


Dream Doctor

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Category: Hanson
Genre: Bondage, Gen, Medical Assault, Religious Conflict, Sadism, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-17
Updated: 2013-05-19
Packaged: 2017-12-12 03:16:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 112
Words: 60,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/806563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written around 2001/2002, and based on the condition of Sleep Paralysis. </p><p>Taylor meets his 'Dream Doctor', a sadistic individual who Taylor's soul has been promised to every night for an entire month.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> From memory I got a lot of comments on this last time it was up, so the warning's going here: this is a very sadistic story. If you're at all squeamish, it's probably not for you. Read at your own risk. And enjoy.

It was near midnight as a soulful voice filtered out into the night air. Passers-by in the streets stopped to listen as best they could, soon going on with their own business and leaving the artist to his. The streets were soon left to a lonely teenager, whose parents certainly didn’t consider should be out this late. He hugged himself trying to shelter his chest from the cold, as he made his way toward the voice. Just outside, he stopped to admire the artist’s work. The voice wasn’t new to him, only the melody. He lived with that voice.

Making his way to the door, he unlocked and opened it to find the home in darkness. Moving quickly and quietly, he closed the door with a slight creak, and began to make his way through the house. The soft sounds of slumber were the only interruption of the artist’s voice, though already slightly softened. Once in the kitchen, he slowly opened the refrigerator to get a drink, closed it, then once again began to move.

He made his way closer to the voice, which was now distinguished as being in the garage. He could see the soft light of a small lamp filtering slightly into the hall, through what was left of a small opening in the door. Quietly, as he came closer, he rest a palm onto the door and pushed slightly. The door opened a little to the sound of a pen scratching across paper, the voice still. He saw the silhouette of his brother, sitting with his back to him, writing. With a yawn, he turned, feeling the presence.

"You’re back," he whispered softly with a grin, and a twinkle in his eye to match.

"I’m back," he replied, coming into the room and closing the door.

His eyes found a small stool in the corner, which he went to fetch under the watchful eyes of his brother. He brought it closer and sat beside him.

"Bit late to be composing," he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah…" his brother raised his own, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, "I just wanted to get on with something I was working on earlier."

"Where’s Ike?"

"Gone to bed I guess."

With a yawn, he closed the keyboard. Then he smiled at his brother.

"So, what do you say we hit the sheets as well?"

He finished his drink, and set the glass down on the nearby table.

"Yeah, I guess. It’s a bit late, huh?"

His brother, done composing, rose from his seat and turned away. He grabbed a nearby torch and flicked it on before switching off the lava lamp.

"Let’s go. Try not to wake anyone."

Both young men exited the room, and departed further down the hallway with a soft whisper of ‘Good night’. The night’s composer making his way into a bedroom shared with his eldest brother Isaac, the night’s traveler opposite with their youngest brother Mackenzie.

As the composer closed his door, he hummed the melody still in his head, not noticing the movement in the bed next to his own.

"Mmm… what are you doing up this late mister?"

He jumped, quickly turning.

"Ike you scared the crap out of me. I could have woken someone up."

"Looks like you did already."

"Sorry."

Isaac shifted position under his sheets as he made his way toward his bed and began to get undressed.

"See you in the morning."

"Yeah. Sorry for keeping you awake."

"You didn’t."

He chuckled as he got into bed and settled down for the night. Soft whispers could be heard from the next room now that all was still.

With another yawn, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

To his annoyance, he awoke again seconds later. But when he was about to sit up to try and find why, he found he couldn’t move.

"Ike…?" he tried to gasp out, but no sound was made.

Then he saw the tall figure leaning over him, and heard the deep whisper…

"Hello Taylor… I’m your dream doctor."


	2. 01

Taylor shot up in his bed, covered in sweat. He immediately turned the nearby touch lamp on and glanced around the room nervously. His brother awoke with the light.

"What now?" he moaned, rubbing his eyes, "come on, turn the light off."

Taylor just shook his head, even though Isaac wasn’t looking at him. He eventually looked up when there was no sign of a reply.

"Taylor… turn the light off."

He shook his head again, watching the door.

"What?" Isaac sat up, noticing the sweat on his face.

"There… someone was in here. A second ago," his voice shook.

"No there wasn’t Tay… they would have woken me up. You know I can’t sleep when we have mice."

"That’s because you watch them."

Isaac regarded his brother for a moment, and looked towards the door.

"I would have heard the door open. There’s no one here, just go back to sleep."

"Ike I saw someone, they talked to me."

"Then what did they say?"

Taylor frowned, suddenly feeling that he shouldn’t be telling him.

"I…" he began as his brother lay down again.

He shook his head and wiped the sweat from his face.

"I’m not going to get back to sleep."

He grabbed the nearby torch and got out of bed.

"Want me to come with you?" Isaac offered with a yawn.

"No, it’s ok," Taylor insisted, pulling a nightgown over his shoulders and making his way toward the door.

Isaac watched as he hesitated before opening it, then turned the doorknob and disappeared into the hallway. 

Grumbling a little, he turned the light off, and rolled over.

Taylor was annoyed to find himself shaking as he walked down the corridor toward the kitchen. He shone the light over every nook and cranny while fumbling for the light switch. When he finally turned it on, he gave a shaky sigh, before going over to the table to sit down. The air around him felt cold, but he knew it wasn’t. And he still couldn’t stop himself from shaking.

He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking of what happened, not willing to cover his eyes.

"What just happened?" he asked himself.

He remembered the person visibly, right down to a hairstyle. It looked like a man in his thirties or forties, wearing some kind of coat over his shoulders and holding something. He’d seen the silhouette by the moonlight on the opposite wall… he knew Isaac liked to keep the window open slightly.

Biting into his fist and rocking back and forth, he tried to decide what to do. He couldn’t tell his parents, they’d think he was mentally unstable. Unless he’d already blown it and Isaac would tell them that morning. He couldn’t tell his siblings, they’d just tell their parents. His eyes began to tear, and he couldn’t stop that either.

What scared him most wasn’t that the person had been in the room or the whisper he’d heard. It was the fact that he couldn’t move or speak out. He remembered trying to call for Ike and only a gasping sound coming from the top of his throat. He remembered trying to sit up, but he couldn’t move his arms or chest at all.

He glanced at the clock, knowing what a sleepless night he’d had so far. It was already 4 o’clock. He frowned. He’d gone to bed well before that, and he didn’t remember a dream. He realized he was thinking a lot clearer than he normally would at this time of day.

Suddenly, he remembered something a friend had told him a long time ago.

"It… they were standing over me…" the young voice rang in his head.

It was something a close friend had said to him around the age of twelve or thirteen. A friend describing a sort of nightmare he assumed, yet with graphic detail and worrying revelations he hadn’t told anyone else.

"Sleep paralysis…" Taylor whispered to himself, saying it at the same time as the friend in his thoughts, "so this is what it’s like."

He glanced around the room, soon eyeing his laptop in the corner. Standing, he made his way over, soon connecting it, and logging on to the Internet.


	3. 02

When Isaac finally awoke the next morning, he got up to find he was the second person awake. Bar Taylor.

"You’ve been up all night?" he frowned from behind, making his brother jump.

He’d been so engrossed in the information he’d come across to realize Isaac had even entered the room.

"Ah, not all night. Just since four."

"And what time did you go to bed?"

Taylor hesitated.

"I don’t know," he shrugged.

Isaac sighed and shook his head, making his way over to the refrigerator for a drink of juice. Once he’d poured a glass, he made his way over to his brother and sat beside him, watching him. His eyes were practically glued to the screen, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days. He stared for a moment.

"Maybe you should go back to bed for…"

"No," he replied sternly.

Isaac frowned, took a drink, and watched him again. His eyes fell over his brother’s arms to his fingers tapping away. Knowing them as well as he did, he could see even in their movement that they were shaking.

"Taylor?"

He hesitated, not getting a reply.

"Why are your hands shaking?"

Taylor hesitated, still staring at the screen. He glanced at his brother, then continued typing.

"You know why."

"I’m afraid I don’t."

"Doesn’t four a.m. ring a bell anywhere inside that head of yours?" Taylor continued, unfazed.

Isaac hesitated, looking at the table. Then he remembered.

"A nightmare has you freaked?"

"It wasn’t a nightmare," Taylor frowned, closing his laptop and standing up frustrated.

He paused for a moment with a sigh, glanced down at his brother, then went to get himself a drink.

"You’ve been up since four a.m. trying to work out if someone was in our room?"

"In a manner of speaking…" Taylor began, pouring his drink and taking a sip.

He set it on the bench and hung his head. Eventually, he shook it.

"Ike, it’s a disorder."

"Huh?"

Taylor turned to him.

"It’s a sleeping disorder. No one was there, it was a hallucination."

"You’re hallucinating?"

"No. Yes… I don’t know. As far as I know I was. Well, I mean I’m not now, obviously."

"Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

Isaac hesitated with a frown, "What is it?"

"Sleep Paralysis," he sighed, "need the gist? It’s a sleeping disorder that will effect many people in their lifetime – many having it every night for forty years of their lives, mainly starting at the age of 16 or just over. Sleep paralysis itself is the name used for the trick your body plays while you sleep. Your brain paralyzes you so you don’t act out your dreams. But sometimes… sometimes when you wake up it’s still there. You’re still paralyzed. Many people hallucinate while this is happening, most saying they see a dark hooded figure leaning over them, or hearing them and other noises. You can’t move, you can’t talk, you can’t stop it. It can carry on from seconds to minutes. It induces paranoia, and people more often than not think they’re going to die."


	4. 03

It was Sunday, which meant church.

Isaac had neglected to tell their parents, mainly thanks to his brother’s pleas of secrecy. Thinking to himself, he was waiting for the right moment to tell either Zac or their parents without Taylor knowing, but every time he had a chance, Taylor would show up for some reason or other and interrupt.

The two of them hung back as the family entered the church.

"Are you ok or what?" Isaac began, stopping him.

Taylor glanced at him, then began to make his way inside. He was stopped by an old woman by the door, who grabbed hold of his arm. He jumped.

"Ah…" he began, not wanting her angry, but wanting her off him all the same.

She squinted up at him as Isaac made his way over. He saw Taylor shaking again. The old woman lifted a crooked finger to point into his face.

"You’ve been cursed by the dream doctor."

Taylor gasped, his eyes wide. But that was when Isaac took hold of the woman’s arm and made her let go. He smiled at her before pulling his brother away.

"What was that about? Are you ok?"

Taylor glanced back at her, seeing her watching him still. He hurriedly turned back.

"Ah, nothing. I’m fine. Really."

Finally, they made their way into the church. They found the rest of the family and went to sit with them. Zac gave both of them confused glances, but they ignored the look.

Well after the service, and after socializing a little, the family began to make their way back outside. Taylor looked around nervously for the old woman. She’d gone.

Noticing his hesitation, Isaac took hold of his arm and pulled him along. Zac noticed, and stopped both of them in their tracks.

"What is with you two today?" he frowned.

"Just leave us alone Zac," Taylor said softly, pushing past.

Zac grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Does this have something to do with last night?" he asked.

"Last night?" Ike began.

"No," Taylor caught on, "you know I don’t have a problem with that."

"What?" Ike asked.

"Then what’s going on?" Zac demanded.

Taylor hesitated as Ike looked between them. He crossed his arms.

"What am I not getting here?"

"Nothing," Zac insisted.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. Taylor just stared at the ground as his younger brother glared at him.

"Look, Tay doesn’t want to talk about it now. We’ll tell you later."

Zac sighed, frustrated, before flinging his arms in the air and walking away. Isaac grabbed Taylor’s shoulders.

"What are we gonna tell him?"

"I don’t know," Taylor looked away, feeling a lump in his throat.

Isaac hesitated, then took his shoulder and led him down the sidewalk. They soon met up with the old lady, waiting for them at the corner.

"You’re cursed," she repeated, frowning at Taylor.

He jumped back, not seeing her at first.

"Leave me alone woman!" he exclaimed as Isaac took hold of him again.

"You know what I’m talking about. It’s not what you think. He’ll be back for you."

"Mother?" came a middle-aged woman, making her way over.

She looked up at the Hansons.

"Sorry, she’s not normally like this. Old age gets the best of her," the woman nodded, before taking the lady’s shoulders and leading her away slowly as she continued to cry out ‘he’ll be back for you!’


	5. 04

Taylor stared at his bed, his back against the door.

"Tay?"

He glanced at Ike, and sighed.

"I just… I just don’t want it to happen again, you know?" he began, "I mean, I’m definitely not sleeping on my back again, that’s for sure."

Isaac scratched his head.

"Do you want me to stay up until you fall asleep?" he offered.

"I don’t want to sound like a little kid or anything, but could you?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Sure," Isaac grinned, "light on or off?"

"On."

Isaac indicated Taylor’s bed, and he finally went over to it. He sat against the pillow and put his legs under the sheets. Staring at the blankets for a moment, he frowned.

"I feel so vulnerable."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? Even if it happens you can’t stop it. As far as I know…"

"Just, try and get some sleep."

Taylor sighed, moved forward a little, and lay down onto his side with a yawn.

"What’s the time?"

"Almost ten."

"Early."

"I know. We have an early morning tomorrow."

"Oh yeah."

He yawned again and turned over.

"Thanks Ike. Good night."

"Good night."

Taylor heard Isaac lay back and take a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

All he did was blink, and when he opened his eyes, the light was still on. But now, he was on his back, a shadow leaning over him. He opened his mouth to try to speak again, but saw a hand clap over it.

His eyes widened in shock as he found he couldn’t move again.

"Hello Taylor," came the same sinister voice, "I’m back."

Tears found their way into Taylor’s eyes as he looked up at the figure. It was the same man as the night before, wearing a brown woolen coat with glasses. This time, he had nothing in his hands.

As Taylor looked to the left, he saw Isaac in bed, asleep.

Suddenly, the man took his hand away, and stood up to look at his watch.

"Taylor, the time is now midnight. Here’s the deal," he began, looking up at him, "every night from now on, you will retire to bed by 10pm, at which precise time you will fall asleep, tired or no. You will awaken precisely at 6am, no later. For those eight hours you belong to me."

Taylor gulped, looking around. He still couldn’t move.

"Tonight is our introductory night, and you will only be with me for a matter of minutes. This is not sleep paralysis as many call it. I am known as your ‘Dream Doctor’, and though it may seem like a dream, in reality you will bear whatever scars I give you."

He smiled, showing a golden tooth.

"As for you, Taylor, I know all I need to know about you already. I will not need you to talk throughout my processes. If I do, I will allow you. Otherwise you will feel the same choking sensation when you try to speak as you do now."

He hesitated for a moment, then smiled again.

"I’ll see you tomorrow night."

And with that, Taylor once again shot up in bed, covered in sweat.

"IKE?!"


	6. 05

"She knew something."

"Who?"

"The old woman."

Isaac looked up in surprise.

"The old woman at the church? The crazy one?"

Taylor hesitated, but shook his head.

"I don’t know. She sounded crazy, but what she said makes sense now."

He looked across at his brother as someone walked past. Isaac sat back.

"So, you’ve been cursed by the ‘Dream Doctor’ huh?"

Taylor couldn’t help but laugh.

"It sounds stupid I know, but… oh man."

The two of them were sitting on a park bench at a park not far from their home. Taylor had been shaking all day, and of course everyone had noticed, so Isaac had made a point of asking him about it that afternoon.

Opting for a more private place to talk, they’d come out to the park. There were minimal people around, mainly young roller bladers, some joggers, and an old couple feeding some ducks.

"I think I’m going mental," he chuckled, a grin appearing on his face.

Isaac raised his eyebrows, and looked out across the lake in front of them.

"Tay… I know you’re not making this up. I know that you’re too freaked to even consider it," he began, scratching his head, "but… this sleep paralysis… I know he apparently said it wasn’t, but I just wanna know, more, about it. I mean…"

Taylor looked up at the water for a moment.

"All I did was look it up on the net. So many people have had it, apparently it’s not a very rare thing," he said finally.

"How rare?"

"I’m not sure. Somewhere said one in six, but I think it’s more like one in a thousand… that get it often. Some people will only have it a couple of times in their whole life."

"So there’s a chance I could get it?" Isaac chuckled.

"Every," Taylor shrugged, "it’s completely random. It’s brought on by stress or lack of sleep or something. Which is a good point…"

He sat back and rubbed his chin.

"If you get it because of lack of sleep, then you’re too scared to sleep because you think it’ll happen again… then you’re just gonna get it from lack of sleep again."

He raised his arm a little and frowned.

"And what the heck is the point of that?"

Isaac raised his own eyebrows and leant forward.

"But sleep paralysis isn’t what you say you have, so can we get back to the topic?"

"Sorry."

"So what do you think you have?"

Taylor shook his head.

"I’ve been cursed by the Dream Doctor. What else?"

"You’re going by the old lady’s statement?"

"What else is there to go by?"

"How do you know it’s not sleep paralysis anyway?"

Taylor sighed.

"Hallucinations don’t socialize with you, ok? They don’t tell you what you can feel, they don’t threaten you, and they certainly don’t plan what they’re going to do with you," he began, "this was more than just a hallucination. Ike, I could see you in the room. I was still in the bedroom. Everything was normal except for the fact that he was there, and I couldn’t move or speak."

He hesitated for a moment.

"And I guess he’s expecting me back at 10."


	7. 06

"So just don’t go to bed," Isaac frowned as Taylor looked at the clock for the thousandth time.

"He said I’d fall asleep anyway!" he fretted.

"Taylor calm down! You’ll scare Mac!"

"I’m sorry!" Taylor exclaimed, jumping a little as he shakily ran his fingers through his hair, "I just… I just don’t want this to happen again."

He stood up and rushed upstairs, it was only two or three minutes until 10pm.

He burst through his bedroom door, and put his hands on his head.

"Why can’t you just leave me alone?" he squeezed his eyes shut.

He turned to the full-length mirror they had sitting in the corner. He had to admit, he looked horrible. He had for the last two days, as if he hadn’t slept in weeks.

The clock downstairs began to chime.

"No, not yet," he begged, looking at himself.

The clock got to chime six, before Taylor suddenly felt dizzy.

He grabbed for the side of the bed as he fell to his knees and closed his eyes. But his efforts to stay standing failed as he fell onto his back on the floor… and remained there.

His eyes shot open.

"Welcome back Taylor," he heard a chuckle.

As Taylor looked up, he saw the man over the other side of the room. But it wasn’t his bedroom this time. The walls were wooden, and lit by two bright lamps at either end. The man was wearing a white coat – like a doctor – and a grin on his face.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said, spreading his arms in emphasis.

Taylor looked around, for some reason not feeling as vulnerable as he thought he would be. That was when he realized he was moving. He’d sat up and looked around.

His eyes widened as he tried to say something, but felt the choking sensation. His hand grabbed at his throat.

"I told you about that," the man shook his head as he turned his back, "only if I need you to. And I don’t. Not today."

Taylor tried again anyway, rubbing his throat. He squinted at the bright lights as he looked up.

He was on the floor, his back near a wall. There was a bench running down the wall to his right, and cupboards against the other. Ahead of him, the man stood in front of a sink, as he seemed to be washing something. In the front left corner sat an old wooden chair, and to the right, a bed. There was no door.

He was about to ask why when he realized he couldn’t talk again.

"Almost ready Taylor, excuse me for being late," the man apologized.

Taylor slowly backed up against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. No matter how much he hoped that when he’d open them again he’d be back in his room, he could still feel the wooden floor beneath his fingers.

When he opened his eyes again, the doctor turned around.

"Alright, ready to go," he smiled, putting on some operating gloves.

He shrugged a little as he began over to Taylor.

"Everything I do is standard procedure. Nothing will be infected if I can help it... unless I mean to of course," he smiled again, showing his golden tooth, "for now, we need you up on the bed."

He grabbed Taylor’s shoulder tightly, and pulled him from the floor. When he was on his feet he took him over to the bed, and pushed him down onto it. Once Taylor was in a suitable position, he waved his arm over his stomach, and Taylor froze.

Again, he realized, he couldn’t move.

The doctor undid the buttons on his jacket and pulled it apart slightly, then began to roll up his shirt. With his stomach bared, Taylor shivered as he went to fetch something. His arms lie helpless above his head as he closed his eyes.

He opened them again when he heard the man return.

"You might feel a little prick," he grinned, showing Taylor what he had.

It was a rather large kitchen knife. His eyes widened as the man brought it down to his stomach, and began to pierce the skin.

All his efforts to cry out were lost, as tears of both pain and fear fell from his eyes.


	8. 07

"Well would you look at that, it’s almost six o’clock," the man looked at his watch.

Taylor was trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I guess that concludes our first formal night together," he grinned, walking over to the sink to wash the instruments he used.

Taylor gulped, feeling sick. He’d felt sick for the past few hours.

"Ah," came the man’s voice, "hear that?"

He grinned as he turned around.

Taylor squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hear whatever he was talking about. His eyes shot open and widened. It was the clock… at his house.

"See you tonight, Taylor," the man grinned, as it chimed three.

And Taylor shot up in bed.

Immediately, he turned onto his side, fell from the bed, and began to throw up onto the floor.

"TAY?! TAYLOR?!" Isaac exclaimed, rushing to get out from underneath his sheets and yelling for their parents as he knelt beside him.

"Tay? Tay you ok man? Tay?" he tried, hugging onto him as Taylor caught his breath.

Taylor grabbed his hand and closed his eyes as he tried to regain control.

His parents appeared in the doorway, and their mother turned the light on.

"Taylor?" she yawned, "what, what happened?"

"He was just sick," Isaac replied tiredly, letting go of him and turning onto his back.

"I’ll get it cleaned up," their father said softly, leaving the room.

"Get Taylor out of here for a moment," Diana nodded towards the door.

Isaac nodded, and began to help Taylor to his feet. One of their sisters appeared in the doorway.

"Go back to bed Avie," their mother instructed, patting her head.

"What’s happening?" she yawned.

"Taylor’s feeling sick. Now, go back to bed."

She left the room as the two brothers made it through the doorway, then out into the living room. Isaac helped Taylor onto the sofa, then knelt in front of him.

"Are you ok? Tay?"

Taylor nodded.

"Yeah… yeah I just feel sick," he closed his eyes again, holding his stomach.

"Please tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with what you were telling me before."

Taylor looked up startled for a second, then suddenly remembered.

"Uh…" he didn’t quite know what to say.

Isaac grabbed him into a hug, and they waited as their parents cleaned the room.

"So, did he come back?" Isaac asked after a while.

"Ah… yeah. Yeah, he um… he did," Taylor stuttered, wiping his face.

"What happened?"

Taylor hesitated for a moment.

"You don’t want to know Ike, trust me on that," he looked into his eyes.

"We’re done up here, if you boys want to get changed," their father’s voice came from the stairs.

Isaac hesitated, then nodded.

"Come on," he put his arm around Taylor’s shoulders and led him back to their room, "get changed, we’ll have breakfast, and we’ll talk."

Taylor nodded as they entered their room and Isaac searched for some clothes. He grabbed a shirt and some pants for both of them, threw Taylor’s to him, and began to get undressed.

Taylor began to take his nightshirt off, when something caught his eye in the mirror. Practically ripping it over his shoulders, he stared at himself in the mirror. Slowly, he began to trace his fingers over the scars on his stomach.


	9. 08

Isaac was silent as he traced the markings with his finger.

"What do you think?"

He regarded his brother for a moment as he stood before him holding his shirt up. He stood up and dusted his knees off.

"Well… it’s creative."

"It’s painful."

"That too."

"How would you know?"

"I wouldn’t," Isaac raised his eyebrows as Taylor dropped his shirt, "but I’m willing to take your word for it."

Taylor bit his lip.

"So ah… what, what did he do, exactly?"

"I don’t know," Taylor shook his head, trying to stop tears forming.

"Damn man, you wanna go somewhere? I mean, you’re too shaken up," Isaac frowned, grabbing his shoulders.

"I want to get out of here."

"Then let’s go."

Isaac led him from their room, told their mother they’d be gone for a while, then took him out to his car. They both got in, and Isaac began to drive aimlessly.

"Anywhere you want to go?" he asked as Taylor leant his head against the window.

"Anywhere but the church."

Isaac glanced at him worriedly.

"The church?"

"Yeah."

Without questioning, Isaac began to avoid it. Thinking of where they could go, he began to drive around the outskirts of Tulsa.

"Ah…" he began some time later, "do you wanna pull into one of these park spots, or just keep driving?"

"I don’t care."

Glancing at his brother, Isaac began to pull off the road at the next inlet. Taylor watched the trees fly past as Isaac pulled into a back corner and the car came to a stop.

He took the keys out and threw them onto the dashboard, then put his hand to his mouth. He glanced at Taylor.

"So… say whatever you have to. Get his out of your system. Let your voice be free," he joked.

"It’s not that simple Ike," Taylor shook his head, staring ahead.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. After a moment, Taylor rolled his shirt up again and gulped at the white marks across his stomach. Isaac glanced across but looked away.

"To think I’ll have these for life," Taylor raised his eyebrows.

Isaac scratched his eyebrow in thought.

"So is he coming back tonight?"

"Apparently."

"To do the same thing?" Isaac almost gulped.

"Who the heck knows?"

Taylor frowned suddenly as he placed his finger near a small spot of a scar, near a large gash. Isaac looked over.

"I don’t remember this."

"He didn’t prick you or anything?"

"No, he went full throttle."

Isaac bit his lip as Taylor looked up worriedly… "Maybe we should have it checked out?"


	10. 09

Taylor and Isaac waited nervously in the waiting room. Taylor’s fingers were going nuts tapping away, as were Isaac’s toes.

"Hanson?" came the doctor’s voice suddenly.

Both their heads shot up, before they looked at each other and stood. The doctor gave them a curious look before leading the way into the consultation room.

Taylor closed the door behind them.

"So… who am I seeing today?" the doctor asked, taking a seat.

Isaac looked at Taylor as they both stood by the door.

"Ah, me."

"Very well, have a seat."

"I’d… rather stand."

Isaac gave him a curious look as he sat down.

"Ok then. What seems to be the problem?"

The doctor looked at Taylor expectantly, as Isaac cast him a worried glance.

"Um… well, I found a scar on my stomach," Taylor began with a gulp, "and I’m not too sure how it got there."

"Show me."

Taylor looked at his brother, who nodded.

Slowly, Taylor lifted his shirt and the doctor came closer.

"That’s some piece of art you have there," he chuckled, "is this what you were talking about?"

He gestured to his stomach.

"No, no… I know how the majority of them were inflicted. But, that one…" Taylor pointed to the small circle, "I don’t know how that got there."

The doctor raised his eyebrows, then went to retrieve a magnifying glass. Not finding anything, he began a routine check.

"Does this hurt?" he asked a few hundred times as he poked around.

Taylor just continued to answer ‘no’. Until the doctor pressed the scar itself, when Taylor buckled in pain.

"TAY?" Isaac exclaimed, rushing to him.

Taylor coughed and looked up at the doctor.

"I’m guessing that hurt," he said, "I’d like to send you for an x-ray… if it isn’t too much trouble."

"No, no, anything," Isaac shook his head as Taylor gulped.

The doctor gave them the details, and they found themselves in another waiting room by 4o’clock that afternoon. Isaac put his hand on Taylor’s knee when he noticed him shaking again. Taylor covered his hand with his own and glanced at him.

"Ok, Taylor Hanson?" came a woman’s voice eventually, "could you follow me please?"

He looked at Ike for confirmation, who nodded.

Taylor slowly stood and began to follow the woman. Everything went normally, apart from the woman accidentally touching the scar and sending him buckling to the floor again. But within twenty minutes or so, it was over.

When Taylor finally came out, he looked sick.

"Man, you look horrible. Let’s get you home," Isaac frowned worriedly, taking his shoulders after handing in his details.

And the two left the surgery.

That night, Taylor sat and watched the clock from 9:30 onwards.

"It’s not going to make it slower," Zac raised his eyebrows, watching him.

"More’s the pity," Taylor remarked, before going upstairs.

He fell backwards onto the bed and closed his eyes. He was so tired, as it felt like he hadn’t had any sleep. But he was well awake until he started to hear the clock chime…

One… two… three… four… five… six.


	11. 10

When Taylor woke up, instead of being on the floor as he’d thought, he was back on the bed.

"Welcome back," came the man’s voice again.

Everything looked the same as it had the night before… apart from what was sitting on the doctor’s bench.

Realizing he could move, Taylor began to sit up before the man came over to him.

"No, no," he instructed, placing a hand on Taylor’s chest and pushing him back down again.

He became paralyzed once more. He gulped.

The man grinned, then went to fetch what was sitting on the bench. Taylor couldn’t even shake.

"We’re going to advance a little further from last night," the man began, rubbing his chin, "every night we’ll go a further step, if you know what I mean. You took last night pretty well. Normally if you didn’t I’d just kill you straight away."

Taylor’s eyes widened. The man chuckled.

He set what he’d picked up down beside Taylor’s body, before fetching another pair of gloves and putting them on. Taylor closed his eyes, before he came back.

Hastily, the man took the leg of his pants, and began to roll them up. With another gulp, Taylor realized what he was going to do. He tried to cry out again, but couldn’t.

The man only chuckled at his attempts.

"Not unlike last night, you might feel a small prick," he grinned, holding up one of the 10-inch needles.

Taylor’s eyes were watering before the metal even pierced his skin.

Slowly, and avoiding the bone, the man drove the needle through his leg. It took a manner of minutes before it came out the other side.

After making sure everything was in order, the man placed a hand over Taylor’s mouth, and slowly lifted it again.

Taylor coughed, still not able to move, and began gasping.

"OH MY GOD!" he screamed, squeezing his eyes shut, "please, please, get it… AH!"

The man smiled down on him, then went to grab a small cloth from the sink. Blood was spilling from the bed, so he began to clean it up.

"What the… who, who are you?" Taylor had trouble getting out.

"I’ve already told you who I am."

Taylor flinched, closing his eyes again and clenching his teeth.

He heard the second needle being chosen.

"No, no, please…" he begged, without opening his eyes.

Then he let out another cry as the second needle went in.

"Taylor?!" he suddenly felt someone grab his shoulders.

His eyes shot open.

"Ike?" he frowned.

"Taylor?" came his distant voice, "what’s wrong with you?!"

Taylor frowned in confusion again, but then he saw. The room around him had become a mix of the two rooms – the doctor’s, and his own.

Then the doctor walked through his brother.

Taylor gasped, watching his brother fade into a sort of brown mist. He bit his lip.

"You’re delusional," the doctor shook his head sadly, placing his hand over Taylor’s mouth again before he could even think of protesting.

Once again, Taylor’s voice was lost.

The doctor shook his head again, and continued with his work.

The following approximate seven hours was filled with the amateur acupuncture. By the time it was over, Taylor had almost fainted from exhaustion.

"Ah, there’s the clock now," the doctor grinned, "I’ll see you tomorrow."

And Taylor listened for the familiar chimes of his clock at home. There they were… one… two… three… and he shot up in bed.


	12. 11

"What the hell happened?!" Isaac exclaimed, having hold of his shoulders.

It took a moment for Taylor to register where he was and what was happening.

"Uh…" he began, without looking at him.

"Taylor you were yelling, what the heck happened?!"

Then Taylor’s eyes widened.

Pushing his brother away, he quickly pulled his legs out from under the sheets and rolled up the left leg of his pants. His eyes widened again in shock, even though he expected to see them.

"What?" Isaac pressed, watching as he looked at himself in the mirror.

Taylor looked up at him as he sat on the bed beside him, then crossed his leg over his knee. Isaac hesitantly looked his leg over, before noticing the white spots. Each was at least half a centimetre diameter, and approximately 5cm apart.

"What the heck is this?" Isaac frowned.

"Someone’s attempt at acupuncture," Taylor raised his eyebrows, unfazed.

Isaac looked up, startled.

"Acupuncture? He stuck needles in your leg?"

Taylor rolled up the other leg of his pants.

"Both legs. And not just in, through," he emphasized, showing his brother where the holes matched.

"What the hell are you two doing up this early? Other people are trying to sleep," came a scornful voice from the doorway.

They looked up to see a very pissed-off Zac.

"Sorry…" Taylor began, before Zac cast a curious glance toward his legs.

"What the hell is wrong with your legs?" he asked curiously with a yawn.

"Nothing."

"Then why have they got dots all over them? You better not be getting the measles or anything, because I do not want them again…"

"Measles are red," Isaac scorned.

"Whatever."

They sat in silence for a moment as Taylor gazed around the room, a confused look on his face.

"So?"

"So what?" Isaac looked toward Zac.

"So why does Taylor have white spots on his legs, scars on his stomach, and is looking around at the room like he’s never been here before?" Zac raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know about the scars?" Taylor shot him a look.

"I have my ways. And if you want to keep something a secret from me you have to learn to do it more discreetly," Zac couldn’t stop a slight grin crossing his face.

Taylor turned away and glared at the window.

"We had to tell him sooner or later," Isaac put a hand on his knee, trying to see his face.

"I’d prefer it to be later. When I have a hold on things a lot better," Taylor replied.

"A hold on things?"

Isaac sighed as Taylor just shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"It can’t be that bad…" Zac shook his head, coming into the room and closing the door, "and if it is I should have even more reason to know."

"Well so do mom and dad, but I’m not telling them," Taylor pointed out, without looking at him.

Zac made his way over to the bed, and sat on the opposite side of Taylor to Isaac.

"Come on," he pressed.

"You remember the old lady at the church?"

"What old lady?"


	13. 12

The brothers didn’t emerge from the bedroom for almost four hours. When they finally did, the rest of the family immediately sensed their nervousness. Silently, they went to the table for breakfast. They’d earlier planned to collect the x-ray that afternoon, and now Zac would be joining them.

Two o’clock found them back at the doctor’s surgery. They immediately noticed a concerned look on the doctor’s face as he glanced at Taylor.

"What is it?" Taylor asked straight away.

"I think you’d better sit down," the doctor indicated the chairs available.

"Come on Tay," Isaac took him by the shoulders, and they both sat down.

Zac stood behind them.

"Now, Mr. Hanson…" the doctor sighed, "I received these x-rays not long after you left my surgery, and I have to say I spent many an hour puzzling over the results last night."

He looked up for a moment, having taken the x-rays from an envelope on his desk. Taking hold of them, he passed them to Taylor.

Taylor couldn’t hide his expression of concern, as Isaac and Zac just looked puzzled. Slowly, Taylor took the first photograph and held it to the light.

When the doctor saw him squint and shake his head slightly, he leant forward and began to point out parts of the x-ray.

"Everything around the area of your scars is normal," he indicated with his little finger, "but where you found that small circular mark…"

He shook his head for a moment, as he pointed to a bright spot on the x-ray. Taylor and his brothers regarded it curiously.

"What is it?" Zac asked finally.

"Well…" the doctor began, "it’s hard to say for certain, being only an x-ray. But it seems as though you’ve either developed some sort of… infection or similar, or the other obvious is that you’ve been injected with an unknown substance."

Taylor gulped.

"Well how can we find out for sure?" Isaac asked.

The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well you could either go for a cat scan, or we could admit you to hospital and maybe operate to remove whatever the object in question is."

Zac put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder as he closed his eyes. Isaac sighed.

"What would you recommend?" he asked.

The doctor hesitated, sitting back in his chair.

"My recommendation is to admit yourself to hospital. Even if it is some kind of infection, it will need surgery. If it is some substance you’ve been injected with, it will need removal."

They hesitated again, before Taylor started to nod.

"Ok…" he began, "but how soon can we have this done?"

"Oh…" the doctor began, "if you are admitted today or tomorrow, being a bit of a celebrity yourself, it should be done within the week…"

"A week?" Taylor frowned, before Isaac patted his shoulder.

Taylor glanced at him, then looked at the doctor.

"Ah… could we have a moment alone, please?" he asked.

The doctor nodded, and left the room. Taylor turned around to face them.

"I think it’s a good idea," Isaac said, "they could keep an eye on you at night for one…"

"Yeah? And how am I going to explain what happens?!" Taylor exclaimed.

"You don’t know what’s going to happen," Zac pointed out.

"Exactly. What if someone walks in as he’s slitting my throat? Huh?"

Zac closed his eyes for a moment, trying to wipe the thought from his mind.

"Sorry," came Taylor’s voice, "but it could be a possibility. He’s already threatened to kill me. Sort of."

"Let’s… ok. Can we at least try this?" Isaac pleaded, "even if you just go for one night for an examination or something. Just so they can see what’s happening. Maybe they’ll have an idea of what’s going on."


	14. 13

"Is there a reason you didn’t want to go in tonight?" Isaac asked quietly as they walked through the front door.

"What do you think?"

"Well it’s not like it’s not going to happen anyway," Zac pointed out, "you’re just delaying the inevitable."

"Guys? I really don’t need this," Taylor shook his head before heading for his bedroom.

He hesitated, then turned back for the living room instead. His brothers watched him worriedly.

"Now he’s scared of his own bedroom," Zac shrugged.

"There’s nothing we can do," Isaac shook his head with a sigh, "we just have to… stick by him I guess. Until it’s over."

"Yeah and if only we knew when that would be."

Zac headed for the music room as Isaac just leant against a bench in the kitchen. Contemplating making something to eat, he decided to check on Taylor instead. He entered the living room to see him staring at the clock.

"It’s not even dark yet," he said, making Taylor jump.

"Yeah, I know. I was just thinking."

Isaac sat on a couch near him and just watched.

"What does the clock have to do with it?" he asked finally.

"I don’t know," Taylor squinted thoughtfully, "but he’s on a very tight schedule."

He sat back and took a deep breath.

"The clock chimes six times at ten o’clock before I go under, and three times at six o’clock when I come out of it. I don’t get that."

"Well… three is half of six," Isaac suggested, "maybe it’s when it turns six o’clock exactly?"

"Then why the six at ten o’clock and not five?" Taylor frowned, "there’s something… The clock has something to do with it. I’m just not sure what."

"Can you ask him?"

Taylor hesitated, a worried look in his eyes.

"Only if he lets me. I’m going… to have a shower."

He got up and left the room. Isaac looked at the clock curiously, thinking over what Taylor said.  
Taylor heard Zac drumming away to a backing tape as he made his way to his bedroom and got some clothes together. The sound was almost comforting. Not giving it a second thought, he headed for the bathroom and ran the shower.

Once Isaac heard the water running, he stood and made his way from the room as well. He made his way to the music room and stuck his head through, just enough to see the amount of concentration on Zac’s face. Realizing he was pretty much messing around, he walked in. Zac stopped and looked up.

"So what’s happening?"

"I don’t know. He’s in the shower."

Zac hesitated, then hit the drums almost angrily.

"This is so frustrating."

"Tell me about it. And you only found out today."

Zac grunted as Isaac picked up a guitar and plugged in the amplifier.

"Anything you want to work on?" Isaac asked, raising his eyebrows.

Zac bit his lip considering.

"There was something I just thought of. But it’s drums."

"Show me."

Zac hesitated, then began tapping his foot to get the tempo right. Ready, he began to bash out a rather involved and professional drum solo. Isaac squinted, moving his head slightly as he listened. When it was over, Zac hit the cymbal.

"Where did that come from?" Isaac chuckled.

Zac shrugged.


	15. 14

Taylor lay on his bed staring at the ceiling as 10pm drew closer. Isaac walked in when there were only a few minutes to go.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, watching him.

Taylor took a deep breath, eyes scanning the ceiling.

"I don’t know," he replied truthfully.

Isaac hesitated, then moved across to the bed and knelt beside him. He took his hand and squeezed it.

"I’m right here, ok?"

Taylor nodded, biting his lip. The clock began to chime.

"Guess I’ll see you at six," he made an attempt at a joke.

"Yeah, you will."

He watched as Taylor closed his eyes on the sixth chime and didn’t open them again. With a sigh, he just sat by his bed and watched.

Taylor on the other hand, had opened his eyes again straight away. He was back on the bench. Yet he could still feel Isaac holding his hand.

"Annoyance," he heard the man murmur, before something hit his hand.

His connection to his brother was lost. He gulped, realizing he was paralyzed already.

"Pleasing to see you again in such good shape. Not many people last very long," the voice came again.

Taylor let his eyes wander, seeing the doctor over at the sink again washing what looked like small, slender knives. He turned his eyes back to the ceiling, afraid of what was going to happen next.

"All ready to go," the doctor said, bringing a couple back to the bench.

He set a few of the knives beside Taylor’s body and tilted his head as he looked down on him. He reached over and opened Taylor’s eyes a little wider as if checking his pupils, before running a finger down the center of his forehead and down to the base of his neck.

"You are quite courageous," he said softly, almost in surprise.

Taylor gulped again, not sure where that came from.

"Many of my subjects faint soon after I begin my work, and that is never any good at all."

Taylor’s eyes darted across the ceiling, just wondering what he was leading up to. The doctor hesitated, then smiled slightly as he lifted one of the knives.

"Relax," he crooned softly, before directing the blade to where his finger lay at the base of Taylor’s neck.

Taylor closed his eyes as he felt the sting, trying not to swallow in case he cut his throat by accident. But the doctor obviously had other plans. After carving a small pattern where the blade lay, the knife ventured upward to his neck itself.

Meanwhile, Isaac was contemplating what had hit his hand away from Taylor’s. He instantly decided it had to have something to do with what was going on. He was pretty much lost in thought until he caught sight of a small scar-like line appearing at the base of his brother’s neck. Squinting slightly, he stood and backed off.

"Holy…"

He cut himself off and rushed to the doorway.

"ZAC?!"

Without waiting for an answer, he went back to Taylor. He debated whether or not to grab his hand again, but decided against it. Instead he knelt by him and watched as the line continued to weave a sort of pattern.

"What?! What happened?" Zac appeared in the doorway.

"Get in here and close the door."

Zac did so, before going over to him.

"Now what… Ah… Ike? You’re seeing that too, right?"

Isaac nodded.

"Ah… what is it?"

"I don’t know."

Zac knelt beside him as the line continued making the pattern further up Taylor’s neck, moving faster and faster as it progressed.


	16. 15

"We could be here for a while," Isaac raised his eyebrows.

Neither he nor Zac’s eyes had left Taylor’s neck, as the pattern continued to expand.

"This is freaky man."

"Yeah I know."

Zac rubbed his chin for a moment, slowly reaching over. He placed his fingertip at the end of the line, and began to follow it as it appeared. Nothing happened in the way of it ceasing.

"Something… something knocked my hand away from his. I was holding it as he went under," Isaac suddenly mentioned.

Zac frowned slightly, before taking Taylor’s hand into his own.

Taylor felt his brother’s touch before hearing the doctor growl slightly.

"Ah!" Zac yelped, pulling back and holding his hand.

"What happened?" Isaac asked immediately.

Zac hesitated, looking up at Taylor, then looked his hand over.

"I’m… not sure. It felt like an electric shock or something," he shook his head.

"Weird," Isaac shook his head.

"That has got to stop," Zac insisted, "we need to find a way to wake him up."

Isaac looked at him for a moment, as if considering it, before returning his gaze to Taylor.

"I don’t know…"

"Well it’s not like any worse can happen," Zac reasoned, standing up.

"And if there is, there’s only one way to find out."

Isaac took a deep breath, then stood up as well.

"What do you propose we do?" he asked nervously.

"Ice works well…"

"And what if he doesn’t wake up?"

"Then he doesn’t wake up," Zac shrugged, "I’ll be back in a second."

Isaac bit his lip as Zac disappeared through the door.

"Please don’t let us screw this up," he whispered to himself, before kneeling beside the bed again.

Zac returned moments later with a small bowl, and accompanied him beside the bed.

"Ok a lot of it’s melted, so use the sponge."

"Ok. Wait… why am I doing it?"

"Cos you’re older. Just do it."

Isaac grunted a little, before grabbing the sponge and soaking it in the freezing cold water. That done, he hesitated before holding it over Taylor’s neck and squeezing.

Taylor’s eyes widened as he felt the sudden cold, and he started coughing.

"Damnation," the doctor cursed softly.

"They’re trying to wake you up. Fools."

He lifted to blade from Taylor’s neck for a moment as Taylor coughed, not wanting his next cut to be fatal. As soon as he calmed somewhat, he returned to his duties.

"Damn. Looks like he’s not going to," Zac frowned, not having received any reaction from Taylor at all.

Isaac placed his hand on Taylor’s forehead, checking his temperature. Everything seemed normal, just as if his brother was sleeping. But it wasn’t long before he also received a small electric shock which made him move his hand.

He grunted slightly.

"Maybe we’ll find out more when he wakes up," he said finally.

"Only a few hours to go," the doctor assured as he switched knives.

Taylor closed his eyes, wishing with all his might that the clock would start chiming there and then.


	17. 16

Taylor choked slightly as the doctor carefully wiped the blood away from his neck as he began to clean up. His eyes could barely open as he heard the clock chiming.

"See you tonight, Taylor."

One… two… three.

"He’s awake!" Isaac exclaimed as Taylor’s eyes shot open.

He immediately started coughing, and Isaac helped him to roll onto his side. As Zac had left the bowl there, Taylor spat what he had to into that.

"Taylor?" came his voice from the doorway, before he made his way over after closing the door.

Taylor panted for breath for a moment, before his right hand flew to his throat.

"We saw it happening," Isaac said softly, watching his face.

Taylor hesitated, then nodded.

"I felt… I felt your hands…" he said softly, "he was… complaining. Said you were trying to wake me up. But he wouldn’t let you."

His eyes began to well up, and Isaac pulled him into a hug.

Zac stood over them for a second, before grabbing the bowl and leaving the room with it.

"Were you awake all night?" Taylor asked softly.

"Yeah I was. It was weird man. We saw this line appearing on your neck and it just kept going and going…"

Taylor hesitated, before pulling away. Slowly, he crawled over to the mirror to get a closer look at the scars left over.

Zac returned moments later.

"Five hours guys," he sighed, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded.

Taylor looked up.

"To what?" Isaac looked confused.

"The meeting… with Ashley… You know David’s gonna be really pissed if we miss it…" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"Oh…"

"You’d better get some sleep Ike," Taylor said softly, his eyes falling to the floor.

Isaac glanced at him, then stood up again.

"Yeah, I guess I’d better."

He headed for the door, then grabbed Zac’s arm.

"Watch him."

Zac nodded, before Isaac went into his brother’s room and shut the door. Taylor gulped, then looked up at himself in the mirror again. He still looked as though he hadn’t slept for weeks.

Zac took a deep breath, then went over to him.

"Can I have a look?"

"Sure," Taylor replied, sitting back and turning his head to the side.

Zac placed his fingertips on the side of his neck and squinted slightly as he looked the marks over.

"How does it happen?" he asked after a moment.

"I mean, it’s like… it’s just like a scar. But scars come from cuts. And there was definitely no blood from what we could see…"

"There were cuts. And there was blood," Taylor replied, not moving.

"Just not from what we could see…"

"Yeah."

Zac sat back a little and sighed again.

"This is really screwed, you know that?"

Taylor chuckled slightly, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, I know."


	18. 17

"We’re dead. We are so dead," Zac shook his head in the back seat of the van.

"Relax," Taylor insisted.

"It’s called being fashionably late," Isaac insisted, "there is nothing wrong with it."

"David’s gonna kick your ass."

"And that’ll be fun to watch, so stop complaining," Taylor raised his eyebrows, pulling down his scarf slightly so he could scratch at the scars.

Isaac hit him.

"Dude!"

"Don’t touch it. If they see it they’ll want to know how it got there."

Taylor frowned a little, but adjusted the scarf and folded his arms.

They arrived at the studio moments later and went inside.

"Hey David! Ashley," Isaac greeted enthusiastically, not looking at all like he’d only gotten three hours of sleep.

"You’re late," Davyd frowned on the other side of the room.

David shook his hand, then indicated for the brothers to sit down. He shook Taylor and Zac’s hands before they each sat around the circular table.

"Fashionably late," Isaac corrected with a smile.

"Fashionably is ten to twenty minutes. Not half an hour and beyond."

Ashley raised his eyebrows and Zac glanced at him.

"Bit cold for you Tay?" Ashley decided to change the introductory subject.

"Yeah, just a bit…"

"We could turn the heater up," Davyd suggested.

"No, it’s ok."

"So about this video…" Isaac was the first to get down to business.

Ashley gave Taylor a curious glance, but left it at that.

Two hours later, the meeting was over.

"Don’t you guys have a photo shoot to do this afternoon?" David asked as they headed for the door.

"Ah, no. That’s tomorrow," Zac corrected, "but it might not be happening at all."

"Taylor has a doctor’s appointment," Isaac piped in before anything else could be said.

"Doctor’s… What’s wrong?" Ashley looked concerned.

"Nothing," Taylor insisted with a smile, "it’s just a checkup. And they can’t really do it any other time."

"Well alright…"

"See you next week," Davyd waved from the door as they headed toward Isaac’s van.

Isaac waved back as they got in. He wound down his window as Ashley came over and leant on the door.

"You guys… You know if something’s wrong you can tell me about it, right?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Sure," Isaac shrugged.

"There’s nothing going on, is there?"

"No," Zac shook his head innocently.

Ashley stared at him for a second, before nodding.

"Ok then. See you in a few days."

"Bye Ashley," Isaac said, before rolling his eyes and closing his window.

He reversed out of the parking lot and took off down the street. Taylor sighed and leant his head back against the seat.

"This is so freaking hot," he murmured, tugging the scarf slightly so the air could get to his neck.

"Never mind. We’ll figure something out," Isaac insisted confidently.


	19. 18

"How long until someone finds out I’m in the hospital?" Taylor asked absently, tapping his fingers on the kitchen table.

"Hopefully long enough," Isaac replied, fixing them both something to eat.

Zac had disappeared.

Isaac finished making the sandwiches and brought them over to the table. Taylor stared at them for a moment, silently.

"Come on Tay, you’ve got to eat," he insisted, biting into one of his own.

Taylor’s fingers began to tap faster, before he lifted his arm from the table. He leant over to grab a sandwich and sat back to fiddle with it.

"And don’t play with your food."

"I wasn’t."

He began to eat it, glancing toward the front door every now and then.

"Do you think I can hold out for two days?" he asked after a moment.

"Until you’re admitted?"

"Yeah."

Isaac shrugged.

"We don’t know what’s going to happen," he said between mouthfuls, "maybe he’ll lay off for a while."

Taylor stared at the sandwich in his hand again, before placing it back on the table.

"Or maybe he won’t."

Isaac sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he finished off.

"I wonder what happens," Taylor squinted slightly at the edge of the table.

"What happens when?"

"When it’s over."

"You’re not going to die, Taylor."

Taylor looked up.

"How do you know that?" he shook his head, "we don’t know anything. We don’t know what, or who we’re dealing with."

"You’re not going to die, because I won’t let you. And I don’t care what I have to go through to get there," Isaac insisted, grabbing the next sandwich.

Taylor hesitated, then looked down again.

"I don’t know… how long this is going to take," he shook his head slowly.

"I don’t know when it’s going to be over. Maybe he wants to kill me in the next few days. Maybe he’s going to haunt me for another forty years. I don’t know…"

"Have you thought about going back to the church?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

Taylor looked up startled, and Isaac frowned slightly at his reaction.

"Ah… not really," he scratched his head.

"And what provoked that reaction?"

Taylor shrugged.

"I don’t know. I just… have this feeling that he won’t let me back there… or something. I don’t know. I don’t know anything."

"Well if you’re not willing, maybe I can find the old lady myself. Find out what she knew."

"She doesn’t know anything," Taylor shook his head and looked away.

"Tay, don’t do this to me. Don’t lie. I’m trying to help you."

"The old woman was crazy," Taylor said decidedly, "her own daughter said that. I don’t trust her. And even if she knew anything there is nothing to say she’d consider trying to help me. If she truly is crazy she might just laugh in my face and walk away."

He stood up from the table and grabbed a sandwich.

"Maybe I’ll work it out for myself," he said softly, before looking up at his brother.

"Before it’s over. Whenever that is."


	20. 19

"Ike?"

"Yeah Tay?"

Taylor held his breath for a moment as he lay on his bed, then rolled onto his side. Isaac was beside him already.

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure. What?"

Taylor grabbed his hand.

"Hold on as long as you can. It helps, it really does."

"Ok."

Isaac looked up at the alarm clock beside the bed. Only one minute to go.

"I love you, you know that, right?" Taylor asked softly.

"Don’t start, Tay. Nothing’s going to happen. Not tonight. Not ever."

Taylor rolled onto his back again as the grandfather clock began chiming.

"See you soon," Isaac said confidently, as Taylor closed his eyes.

"You shouldn’t be encouraging that type of behaviour," came the doctor’s voice almost instantly.

When Taylor opened his eyes, he saw that he was sitting in the old chair he’d seen in the room earlier. The man stood at the sink, washing a large knife.

Taylor gulped, wondering what he was going to do.

"It doesn’t make me very happy… to have someone interfering with my work," he went on.

He jumped suddenly, as if someone had crept up on him, then sneered.

"Don’t push me," he growled.

Isaac frowned in concentration, keeping hold of Taylor’s hand as hard as he could. He could feel the electrical current pulsing softly through his hand, but refused to give in.

"Alright," the doctor said finally, pulling his gloves over his fingers and picking up the knife.

"Two can play at that game."

He made his way over to Taylor, knelt slightly, then drove the knife through his left hip.

Taylor coughed for a moment, unable to do anything else.

It was then that Isaac noticed the red appearing beneath the sheets…

"Holy…" he cut himself off, instantly dropping Taylor’s hand.

"Well isn’t that better?" the doctor smiled, removing the knife and going to sit it on the sink.

"ZAC?!" Isaac exclaimed, rushing to pull the covers back and lifting Taylor’s shirt slightly.

"What now?!"

"Grab a towel or something!"

Taylor’s eyes glazed over slightly, trying desperately to stay conscious. He continued coughing, before converting to gasping for breath.

"Breathe evenly. You’ll be fine," the doctor recommended, searching through the cupboards beneath the sink, "that was just to scare them a little. And it worked."

Tears welled in Taylor’s eyes when he realized he couldn’t feel his brother any more. He closed them, before hearing the doctor make his way toward him again.

He opened his eyes to a squint, just enough to see what he was doing.

The man set a small case on the ground, and opened it. It held a syringe, which he began to piece together, and a small bottle of clear liquid.

Once Taylor saw what it was, he opened his mouth to try and protest, even though he knew he couldn’t make a sound.

"Oh, but not knowing what it is, is half the fun. Is it not?" the doctor smiled, tilting the bottle a little as he filled the syringe.

He used a sterilized cotton swab on Taylor’s arm before beginning to inject the mystery substance.


	21. 20

"Ok. Where the hell did that come from?" Zac demanded, after Isaac had uncovered the scar on Taylor’s hip.

Didn’t exactly explain the amount of blood on the sheets.

"I… don’t… It came from there. It had to," Isaac decided, shaking his head.

"Well. At least he’s not bleeding to death," Zac raised his eyebrows, trying to clear up most of the blood before it soaked into the sheets too much.

Isaac scratched his head.

"Yeah…"

"Did you do something to provoke the guy or what?"

"Maybe."

Isaac sighed as Zac stood up.

"I was holding his hand again, and I wouldn’t let go."

"Then maybe that’s why. You pissed him off," Zac shrugged, "I’m gonna rinse this out. Back in a moment."

An hour or so later, Taylor groaned as he rolled his head slightly. He stared at the table for a moment, trying to focus on it. His vision had gone blurry, and he was feeling dizzy.

The doctor had since simply retrieved some notebooks from the cupboard and begun reading through them, practically ignoring him.

Taylor blinked a few times, before finally closing his eyes altogether. There was really no point trying to do something he knew for sure he couldn’t.

Like move.

He gulped slightly, wishing he could touch his head. Anything to tell him that the world was still in one place.

Zac returned to the room to find Isaac studying the scar on Taylor’s hip.

"He must have actually stabbed him or something," Zac suggested, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah. Guess we’ll find out more when he wakes up."

Zac sighed again.

"Ike, we’re not going to help him by just sitting on our hands and watching," he shrugged, "why don’t you get some sleep. You’ll be more use to us in proper working order, instead of living off one or two hours a morning."

Isaac hesitated.

"I can’t sleep not knowing what’s happening to him," he said finally.

"No other scars have come up yet tonight. I don’t know what he’s doing."

"And you’re not going to find out until 6am," Zac insisted, "please Ike, he’d want you to get some sleep too."

"He asked me to stay with him."

"He’s not going to know any different," Zac pointed out, "now come on. We can clear this mess up when he wakes up."

Isaac bit his fingernails for a second before finally standing up.

"Alright, I’ll go. See you in the morning."

"Good. I’ve set my alarm for 6am. So I’ll see you then."

And Zac finally left the room. Isaac glanced at Taylor one last time before getting into his bed and turning off the light.

"See you in the morning, Tay."

"They’ve deserted you," the doctor chuckled, knowing Taylor would still barely be able to understand him.

"You asked them to stay by you, yet they deserted you. Can I supply a lack of trust on your own behalf?"

Taylor opened his mouth, but barely managed a cough. Opening his eyes again slightly, he could now barely make anything out.

"This is all for tonight, though you may begin to feel a little sick in the stomach," the doctor confided, "so I will see you tomorrow night. Farewell, Taylor."

And he disappeared from sight.


	22. 21

The next thing Taylor heard was the clock beginning to chime. When it chimed three, his eyes slowly slid open, but he didn’t move.

"Tay?" came Isaac’s voice.

Taylor looked to the side slowly, barely managing to make out his brother’s face.

"…Ike?"

"Tay? What’s wrong?" Isaac frowned, grabbing his hand, "what happened? Are you ok?"

Taylor groaned, then closed his eyes again. He rolled over onto his side, then leant up on his elbow before trying to open his eyes again.

"Talk to me Tay…"

It was then that Zac appeared in the doorway, a hand over his mouth to hide a yawn.

"So what happened?" he asked, folding his arms.

"I don’t know," Isaac replied, looking curious.

Taylor leant over further so one hand could touch the ground, then used it to sustain his weight as he fell to his hands and knees on the floor.

"Come on Tay…" Isaac grabbed his shoulder to try and help him stand up.

"No…" Taylor murmured, pushing him away.

Isaac fell backward slightly, a look of worry crossing his face.

"I’m just trying to help, man."

"You… I asked… You left me," Taylor was slurring his words.

He twisted so he could lean on the bed as he tried to stand up. Zac’s eyebrows rose, as Isaac glanced toward him.

"We didn’t leave you Tay, he forced us away. He wouldn’t let us touch you," he tried to reason.

"You… left… me…"

Taylor groaned, then collapsed forward onto the bed again.

"We’re supposed to be at the hospital in four hours," Zac reminded them suddenly, "but he can’t go in like this."

"He brainwashed you, didn’t he?" Isaac frowned, only slightly ignoring Zac.

"No," Taylor frowned, opening and closing his eyes – trying to get some vision back.

"Just leave… me alone."

"Tay you can’t even walk," Isaac pointed out, "I’m not leaving you."

"Ditto," Zac raised his hand, "sorry."

Taylor looked up at him, squinting. He barely managed to make out the tall figure that was Zac’s body, and the doorway around him.

"I…"

Before Taylor could finish a sentence, he collapsed down onto the floor.

"Tay? Tay?!" Isaac exclaimed, shaking his shoulders and trying to get him to open his eyes again.

"He’s ok," Zac insisted, "it’s probably vertigo."

"The doctor did this on purpose Zac," Isaac realized, "he knew we couldn’t admit him if he was in this kind of state. The bastard…"

"Cool it," Zac insisted, making his way over.

He knelt beside them and patted Taylor’s face. He slowly tried to open his eyes again.

"Tay? Can you see me?"

"Zac…?" he whispered, before his eyes slid shut again.

"Don’t shut your eyes on me," Zac insisted, patting his face again, "come on Tay."

"I’m here…" Taylor said softly, opening his eyes again and blinking slowly.

"Good. Can you squeeze Ike’s hand?"

Taylor hesitated, before feeling his brother’s hand in his own. He tried to.

"A little," he replied, "…that’s it."


	23. 22

Isaac looked up at the clock in the living room. He was sitting on the couch, across from where Taylor was laying on the double sofa. He was too scared to even attempt sleep, but he could hardly move as it were.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Zac asked, appearing at the door.

No reply.

"Alright…"

He disappeared again, and there soon came some noise from the kitchen.

Isaac glanced at Taylor, then looked back to the clock.

"Why… is this happening… to me?" Taylor’s voice broke the otherwise silence.

"What… did I do? Why…"

Isaac hushed him, getting onto his knees on the floor and scooting over to him.

"It’s ok Tay. We’ll find out."

Taylor opened his eyes and looked into Isaac’s for a moment, before looking up at the clock.

"This… is like a dream… I can’t see, I can’t think…" he gulped slightly.

"At least you’re thinking it’s like a dream," Isaac offered, squeezing his hand slightly, "do you want to try squeezing my hand again? In case it’s starting to wear off."

"It won’t… wear off," Taylor struggled to say, laying his head down on his arm again.

"Only… when he wants it to."

"Yeah, I know. Just a thought."

Zac soon re-entered the room with a couple of plates of food.

"Here," he said, almost forcefully, shoving one of the plates into Isaac’s lap.

"Eat it or I’ll shove it down your throat."

Taylor smiled slightly.

"Thanks," Isaac said awkwardly, "want some Tay?"

"I think… I’d just bring it back up."

"Are you feeling sick at the moment?" Zac asked worriedly.

Taylor hesitated, then shifted slightly.

"Hard to… tell. But I don’t… think so."

"Maybe you should go back upstairs," Isaac suggested softly.

"No," Taylor insisted, the strongest word he’d been able to produce all day.

Isaac raised his hands in surrender, then sat back to eat.

Zac’s phone rang.

"Yello?"

"Hey Zac. Just checking up on Taylor… everything go alright?"

"Umm…" Zac stared at Ike for a second, then bit his lip.

"Ike’s sick. So we didn’t go. I think he’s given it to Taylor and me too."

He faked a sneeze.

"Oh God. Are you going to be right for the studio next week?"

"I don’t know Ash. How about you ask us closer to the date?"

"I could do that."

They both hesitated for a moment, Isaac rolling his eyes.

"I’ve got to go," Zac said suddenly.

"Sure man. Call me if you need me."

"Will do. Bye."

Zac hung up, then groaned.

"He’s just trying to help," Isaac insisted, "don’t worry about him."


	24. 23

Isaac sat down heavily on his bed and Zac soon followed him. They’d just had to practically drag Taylor up the stairs and into his bed.

Zac glanced at the alarm clock. 9:57pm.

"Well, I guess this is it," he said, getting up again.

He went over to Taylor and squeezed his hand.

"See you in the morning Tay."

"Goodnight Zac."

Zac left the room, before Isaac again knelt beside the bed and took Taylor’s hand.

"Maybe it’s not a good idea for you to hold on this time," Taylor said softly, his eyes a slightly darker blue as they looked into Isaac’s.

"I’ll hold it as long as I can," Isaac insisted.

He glanced at the clock. 9:59pm.

"Good luck man."

"Thanks. See you soon."

His eyes slid shut as the clock began to chime, and soon reopened.

Something felt different…

Then he realized he could move.

He fell slightly from the bed and backed against the back wall, not seeing the doctor anywhere. It also took him a moment to realize that the vertigo was gone.

The doctor wasn’t in the room.

Taylor looked around nervously, expecting him to appear at any second. He eventually did, moments later.

"Don’t be afraid," the man smiled, going to the sink to wash his hands, "your power of speech has been returned to you. Enjoy while it lasts."

Taylor’s hand grabbed at his throat, before he realized what he said was the truth.

"Why are you doing this?" was the first question that came to mind.

The doctor turned to him, and Taylor began to back into the corner.

"We all are, what we are, Taylor," the man replied finally, "we cannot be anything more or less than what we are. I would much prefer this existence to a mortal life, wouldn’t you?"

Taylor gulped, turning his head away for a moment, before his eyes shot back to the doctor.

"I won’t be a moment," the man said, turning back to the sink.

He replaced the gloves over his hands, then opened the cupboard and dug out a pair of steel cuffs.

Taylor finally made it to the corner, and began to sink to the ground.

"What are you going to do?" he practically gasped out.

"What’s on my schedule is what I shall do."

"When does it end?" Taylor suddenly thought to ask, wrapping his arms around himself.

"The average span is thirty days. Some last shorter, some last longer. I’m not too sure about you as an individual yet."

Taylor gulped again and lowered his eyes to the floor. The doctor advanced on him, before Taylor found himself paralyzed again.

"Please don’t do this," he begged, looking up again.

The doctor ignored him, pulling out his right wrist and locking one of the cuffs onto it. He then pulled him to his feet.

"Please, don’t," Taylor shook his head slightly, the tears beginning to well in his eyes again.

"I am only doing, what has been asked of me," the doctor replied smoothly, before pulling Taylor over to a bar running across the opposite wall to the bed.

He slid the other cuff through it, before fastening Taylor’s left wrist. He soon found he could move again.

Taking a deep breath, he sank to the ground as the doctor went back to the cupboard.


	25. 24

Taylor leant into the wall slightly as he heard the cupboard door close. The doctor soon made his way over.

"Stand up," he instructed calmly.

Taylor cringed, but did as he asked.

"It works a lot better if you open your eyes," he said from behind.

"Please don’t do this," Taylor shook his head, opening his eyes.

Not a moment later, a loud crack shot through the air, followed by a catapulting pain through his chest. He cried out and fell to his knees again before feeling the blood begin to flow down his back.

The doctor cradled the whip for a moment, before running his fingers along the leather to clean it slightly.  
Taylor clenched his fists, before the tears started streaming from his eyes.

"What did I do?" he cried finally, closing his eyes again.

The doctor hesitated, before readying the whip again.

"You existed."

Strike two.

"I think that will be all from you today."

And with that, Taylor’s voice was lost again.

Isaac meanwhile, was just staring at his brother’s body from the other bed.

Nothing had happened as far as he knew. So what the heck was going on?

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to wipe everything from his mind so he’d have some kind of chance at sleep.

Taylor arched his back and almost choked as the whip struck again.

"I’m looking forward to three weeks from now," the doctor said almost absently, readying the whip again.

Taylor concentrated on his breathing, begging the pain to turn his body numb.

"If you last that long."

Strike.

Taylor coughed, and let out somewhat of a silent yell. He squeezed his eyes shut again, and leant his head against his hands on the bar. The doctor readied the whip again.

The whipping continued well until their time together was over.

Isaac was at Taylor’s bedside well before 6am. He dare not touch him, but he kept his eye both on his brother’s face, and their bedside clock. As the grandfather clock outside began to chime, he did finally take Taylor’s hand in his own.

Taylor’s eyes shot open on the third chime, and he immediately sat up coughing.

"Tay?" Isaac tried to grab his attention, "Taylor? Are you ok? What happened?"

Taylor glanced up at him, but continued to cough. He grabbed hold of Isaac’s shoulder for a moment, before the coughing ceased and he tried to catch his breath.

"Tay?"

"It’s ok," he insisted, the moment Zac entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"So what happened?" Zac asked with a yawn, making his way over.

Taylor hesitated and closed his eyes, before scratching his head and turning slightly.

"Pull up my shirt."

Isaac glanced at Zac, but did so. Both their eyebrows raised at the long scars running vertically and diagonally down their brother’s back.

"This wasn’t from knives," Isaac squinted slightly as he let his shirt go.

Taylor hesitated again, before glancing at him and slowly getting to his feet.

"And your vertigo’s gone," Zac noted.

"It was gone the moment I was there," Taylor rubbed his neck, walking over to the mirror to look himself over, "and you’re right. No knives."

"So what was it?" Zac shrugged.


	26. 25

"I really, really think, that we should maybe go back to the church, and find this old lady," Isaac insisted sometime that afternoon.

Taylor just stared blankly at the coffee table in front of him, barely breathing.

Zac sighed and scratched his head.

"I think so too. Taylor?"

"Thirty days…" Taylor murmured, frowning slightly.

"Sorry?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

Taylor glanced up at him, then directed his attention to Isaac.

"Thirty days. The doctor said thirty days. That’s how long this is supposed to last. From start to end."

"So when did it start?" Zac asked.

"Altogether?" Isaac frowned slightly.

Taylor nodded.

"This is day eight," Isaac said, then looked up at Zac.

"Three weeks and a day then," Zac raised his eyebrows.

"He said three weeks," Taylor said under his breath, eyes darting across the curtains, "he said… he was looking forward to what was going to happen in three weeks."

"Any idea what?" Isaac shrugged.

Taylor froze for a moment, then looked down to his hands.

"He’s going to kill you, isn’t he?" Zac nodded.

"I don’t know for sure," Taylor looked worried, glancing at the clock, "and that’s if I’m not dead before then."

"Well if he told you thirty days, we should assume he’d keep you alive until at least then," Isaac scratched his neck nervously.

"That’s only average," Taylor shook his head, "he said the average span was thirty days. Some last longer."

He looked up at Isaac.

"Some last less."

"So what, you could die any day now?" Zac frowned.

"I don’t know. I don’t know what he has planned. I don’t know what he’s going to do."

"Look Tay," Isaac sat forward slightly, "tomorrow is Sunday. We will be going to church. If that old lady is there, we are going to talk to her. Find out what she knows, how she knows it, and we’re going to find out as much as we bloody well can in the space of time that we have. Alright?"

Taylor stared at him for a moment, but nodded.

"Ok."

"We need to know everything she knows. At this point anything at all is helpful," Zac added.

"I mean you never know, she may have known someone who experienced something similar," Isaac shrugged, "maybe she knows what to do."

"She pointed at me and told me I was cursed," Taylor raised his eyebrows, "exactly how helpful is that?"

"That was a spur of the moment thing," Zac insisted, "maybe she’d be more willing to talk if you weren’t on your way into the church, or if Ike wasn’t busy trying to keep her away from you."

Taylor took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Ok. Let’s… let’s just see what we can do," he agreed, "I mean we’ve got nothing to lose really. Either I get help or I just continue bleeding and I eventually die."

"What a lovely picture you just put in my head," Zac frowned slightly.

Taylor looked up at him.

"It might be something you’d want to get used to," he said finally.

"After all… we’ve got three weeks of it to look forward to."


	27. 26

"Did you call the hospital at all?" Taylor suddenly asked later that night.

"I think Dad called them and said you weren’t ready," Isaac replied, following him up the stairs.

Zac had disappeared again. Gone out somewhere.

"Do you have any idea where Zac went a while ago?" Isaac asked curiously.

"Nope, none."

Isaac raised an eyebrow at the tone of his voice, before following him into their room.

"Did he tell you when he was going to be back?"

"No."

"Hmm."

Isaac sat on his bed, and Taylor on his. Taylor closed his eyes with a yawn, then looked up at the clock.

"Do you actually feel as if you’ve slept when obviously… you haven’t?" Isaac asked after a moment.

Taylor chewed his lip in thought.

"Depends on the day. This morning I felt pretty much ok. But other days I’ve felt like I haven’t slept in weeks."

"So it depends on what he thinks you should feel like?"

"I guess…"

Taylor quickly lay down before the clock started chiming.

"Goodnight Tay."

"You too."

Taylor rolled onto his back, and his eyes slid shut on the sixth chime.

When he opened them again, he was back on the table. Paralyzed.

"My, my… welcome back," came the doctor’s dark tone.

Taylor’s eyes ventured to the sink where he stood. He quickly replaced the surgical gloves over his hands, before looking through the cupboards.

Taylor gulped and closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating what was happening and letting his imagination run wild.

"Here we are."

Taylor’s eyes shot open.

The doctor returned to the table, not letting Taylor see what was in his hands. Staring at Taylor’s face consideringly for a moment, he waved his hands over his eyes. Taylor’s eyes slid shut, and he suddenly found he couldn’t open them again.

He let out a muffled cry, before hearing the doctor tsk a little.

He heard a click.

Meanwhile, Isaac hadn’t moved. Zac wasn’t there to order him into bed, so to speak, so he wasn’t going. Not at least until he found out what was going on, or got some kind of clue. It may take hours, but he was willing to wait.

The first thing Taylor felt was his wrist warming. Then becoming hot. Then burning. He tried to cry out a few times, but he just couldn’t.

The heat began to trail up his arm, and he could almost feel the hairs on his arm just shriveling. But the second worst thing was the stench that erupted. The stench of melting skin.

Taylor tried to concentrate more on his breathing, though the tears still fell down his cheeks. All the while mouthing the words ‘please, please, please…’

When Zac arrived home, the house was silent. He quietly snuck up to Taylor and Isaac’s room and slid the door open slightly.

The light was on, and Isaac had fallen asleep fully clothed. Taylor lay on his back in his bed, a deceitfully content look on his face.

Zac sighed and stepped through. He pulled some covers over Isaac before going to check on Taylor.

He frowned as he saw the burn marks crawling over his arms.

Taylor’s eyes were never opened, though the burning continued for the full eight hours. Up both arms and biceps, and in places across his hips and thighs.


	28. 27

Taylor’s eyes shot open.

"Tay? Tay?! Oh my God…"

Taylor cast his eyes toward Isaac and sat up.

"What?" he gulped worriedly.

Isaac bit his bottom lip, then took Taylor’s hand in his own.

He slowly held the arm up for Taylor to see.

Taylor’s eyebrows furrowed, before he started shaking his head.

"No, n-no…"

He threw the bedcovers off and quickly stood in front of the mirror.

"Oh my God…"

"I see he did do a lot of damage after all," came Zac’s voice from the doorway as he folded his arms across his chest.

Taylor’s eyes darted toward him, before they returned to the mirror. Slowly, as if always deciding whether or not to, his raised his right hand to his left arm. His fingertips hovered over the skin for a moment, before he lowered them and actually felt the scars.

"Oh my God," he said again, his eyes welling up.

Isaac stood up and walked over to him, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"It’s ok Tay. We can cover this up…"

"I go into hospital tomorrow," Taylor looked into his eyes.

"What are they going to think?!"

"We can always say someone was careless. Left the kettle on the edge of the bench and you walked past and ‘wham!’ Blame me, I don’t mind," Zac shrugged.

"And that burnt me evenly on both sides?" Taylor frowned, "what… what about church this morning?"

"Don’t worry about that," Isaac insisted.

"Wear a long sleeved shirt. He didn’t touch your hands. And we will see that old lady and find out what she knows."

Taylor backed away from him and turned to look in the mirror again. Then he looked down at his arms and lifted the side of his shirt a little.

"It’s like he’s making you not want to go out in public," Zac frowned thoughtfully.

Isaac glanced at him, then returned his attention to Taylor.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"I guess I’ll have to be won’t I?" Taylor snapped back.

He hesitated, then ran his fingers through his hair.

"I’m going to have a shower… get ready."

"Breakfast will be ready for you when you come out. Don’t be too long," Zac offered, stepping out of the way.

Taylor grabbed some clothes and headed for the nearest bathroom.

Isaac watched after him, then began to put his bed back together.

"So where did you go last night?"

Zac stared at Taylor’s bed for a moment, then cast his eyes toward him.

"To a friend’s," he replied, scratching his shoulder against the doorframe.

"Which friend?"

"Does it matter?" Zac shrugged.

"I was just curious."

Zac nodded.

"I’ll make some breakfast."

He left Isaac to finish tidying up and headed down to the kitchen. He heard Taylor testing out some lyrics on the way, which brought a smile to his face.

Isaac sighed thoughtfully and looked around. Good enough. He followed Zac.


	29. 28

"I really don’t think this is a good idea."

"Tay, this could be your only chance at getting back to some kind of normalcy. Don’t throw it away."

Isaac and Taylor stood on the sidewalk a few buildings away from the church. Taylor wearing a long sleeved shirt under his jacket, and the scarf again. Zac joined them a moment later.

"Any sign of her?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"None," Isaac shook his head.

"Maybe I should just go… if you guys see her you can ask her," Taylor turned to go back to the car.

Zac grabbed his arm.

"Taylor, you are going to church," Isaac insisted.

Taylor’s eyes hit the ground, before Isaac grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"Let’s go," Zac raised his eyebrows and led the way.

Almost everyone was already inside, and they were practically the last ones through the door. As they stepped up to it, the pastor greeted both Isaac and Zac and let them through. Taylor, he laid a hand on his chest.

Taylor’s heart skipped a beat.

"You bring great mourning to this church," the pastor said sternly, before Isaac and Zac could turn around.

The pastor lowered his arm.

"But you have a clean soul. You may pass on one condition."

Taylor gulped.

"On what?" Isaac asked for him.

"On the premise that you join me at the rear of the church when this service is over."

"Wait, you know what’s going on?" Zac piped up.

"Certainly young Sir. Your brother’s mere presence shrieks with agony."

"I will join you," Taylor said softly, looking up, "if you can help me."

The pastor’s left eye twitched slightly.

"I’ll see what I can do."

He stepped back to allow Taylor through, then swiftly closed the door behind him. Looking more than a little unsettled, the boys found the rest of their family and took their seats.

The service went on.

"Hey, Tay," Zac caught his attention as people were leaving.

Taylor came over and Zac caught his arm.

"Is that her?" he nodded towards an old woman saying farewell to the pastor.

Taylor squinted.

"Yeah, it is…"

"I’ll catch her," Isaac insisted, stepping past and going after her.

"No, Ike! Don’t… worry…" Taylor threw his hands up.

Once most people had left, the pastor closed the door before Taylor and Zac could and bolted it shut.

Zac looked curious at that action, whereas Taylor just looked worried.

"Follow me boys," the pastor insisted, walking past them and to a side door.

He opened it and disappeared through.

"Come along, come along."

Zac and Taylor glanced at each other, before Zac quickly turned his phone on again in case Isaac were to ring.

Taylor began over to the door and stepped through into a dark hallway. Zac followed, before the door closed behind them and there was only lamplight to guide them.


	30. 29

"Excuse me, ma’am?" Isaac tapped the woman on the shoulder as she made her way down the street.

She turned slightly, leaning on her walking stick.

"Can I help you young man?"

"I ah… don’t suppose you remember me. You approached my brother, this time last week, and…"

"Ah yes, the blonde boy. How is he?"

Isaac frowned slightly.

"He’s… not good. That’s why I’m here. You told him he was cursed."

The old woman looked blank for a moment, and her smile faded.

"So it is true," her eyes fell to the ground.

"Good day Sir."

She turned to go on her way.

"No, please, ma’am. Don’t walk away. He needs help. At least tell me how you knew."

She stopped in her pace and turned slightly.

"He will know all he needs to eventually. Don’t you worry about that."

"How can we stop this?" Isaac shook his head, pleadingly, "please?"

"That I cannot help you with. What your brother does about it is up to him. Until the end of the moon’s cycle."

She turned to leave again.

"The moon’s cycle?" Isaac frowned.

"Thirty days."

He looked up again and walked after her.

"Could you please tell me all you know?" he practically begged.

"I cannot help you with that either."

The woman stopped and dug through her handbag for a moment. Isaac scratched his head and looked back down the street.

"Here."

When he looked down again, she was handing him a slip of paper.

"Be at this address. Tuesday night. Eight o’clock sharp. I will tell you anything I can."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much," Isaac could have hugged her.

"Now leave me be."

And she took off down the street again.

"Thank you!" Isaac called after her.

He looked down at the address in his hands. Nope, he had no idea of where it was. But he didn’t care. Finally they might be getting some answers.

He headed back to the church, thinking over all the questions he wanted to ask her in his head.

He stepped up to the front door and turned the knob.

Locked?

He frowned for a moment, then knocked. No answer.

Biting his lip, he waited a moment longer before beginning to head around the side. There were no side doors or windows apart from into the main hall, and all were locked.

With a sigh, he pulled out his cell phone. Would they have theirs on again yet?

He tried Taylor. His phone wasn’t on. He tried Zac, and it rang through.

"Hello?" came a crackled question.

"Hello… Zac?"

"Yeah, Ike?"

"Where are you?"


	31. 30

"We’re in the back of the church like he said. Ike, I’ve gotta go. Just wait for us outside."

"But…"

Zac hung up as they came to the end of the hallway and to an open door. Taylor stopped in the entrance, as if debating with himself whether or not to go through.

"Come along," came the pastor’s voice from inside, "we’re waiting."

"We?" Zac whispered.

Taylor took a deep breath, then stepped into the room. It was dimly lit by a single chandelier and many candles scattered around the edges. Once Zac stepped through, he closed the door behind him. To their left sat three elderly gentlemen, with the pastor standing behind them.

"Let’s see them," one of them broke the otherwise silence.

"What?" Zac asked.

"The scars," another replied, raising an eyebrow.

Taylor glanced at Zac worriedly.

"Do not worry. We are here to help, after all," the pastor insisted.

Taylor bit his lip, then removed his scarf.

A gasp came from one of the old men.

"So… ‘tis true," the second stated with a nod, "come closer boy."

"His name is Taylor," Zac insisted as Taylor stepped forward uneasily.

"What was his last action? And how long has this been going on?" the third man asked, placing spectacles onto his nose and regarding Taylor’s neck.

"Ah… about a week. A week ago, this started. I think," Taylor stuttered.

He glanced at Zac again.

"And what was his last action?"

Taylor gulped again, then looked down as he rolled up his left sleeve.

"It is happening already. It is well underway," the first man said decisively.

Taylor hesitated, then folded his arms.

"So what’s going on?" he asked nervously.

"It is the Dream Doctor," the pastor replied simply.

"What about the clock?" Zac reminded Taylor.

"The clock…" Taylor murmured before looking up, "why is it three and six? I know there’s something to do with the times I go under and wake up. Can you answer me that?"

The third man laughed a little.

"Fools. It is not three and six," the second shook his head, "it is three times six."

"The signature number of Satan himself…" the first trailed off.

Taylor froze, staring at him.

"Satan?!" Zac exclaimed, stepping forward.

"What exactly are we dealing with here?! I believe we have a right to know!"

"And you will Sir," the second replied, "when the time is right and not before. There are twenty days left…"

"If I last that long," Taylor’s eyebrows furrowed.

"You will. I believe you will. You have a strong soul," the pastor insisted, "and the Dream Doctor must keep you alive until then."

"Then why did he say it could happen before?" Zac demanded.

"Because one of the Doctor’s tricks is to implant the ideal of suicide into one’s head," the third man tapped his temple with his fingertips.

"Oh God…" Taylor breathed, closing his eyes.

"But you will not give in, I am sure of it," the pastor stressed sincerely.

"And we will do our best to assist you throughout the next twenty days."


	32. 31

"We can’t stop it, can we?" Taylor’s voice shook as he hugged himself.

Silence.

"It has never been achieved before, as far as we know," the second man amended.

"As far as you know?" Zac picked up.

"The Dream Doctor did venture overseas at some point, and did not return for many years. What happened during that time we are unaware of."

"Years? How long has this…?"

"This has been happening since the dawn of time. The Dream Doctor is the devil’s resident sadist. There to perform actions not wished upon one’s worst enemy onto the innocent."

"Why did he choose me?" Taylor looked up again suddenly, "why… out of everyone…"

"Perhaps he did not," the first man began, "there has been talk within the last few years of a temporary cure of the Dream Doctor. He has never been defeated per se, but he can be dissuaded…"

"Well can we do that?" Zac interrupted as Taylor’s eyebrows rose.

The man hesitated, twiddling his thumbs.

"He can be dissuaded… but he then moves onto a person one loves most in the world."

Taylor blinked.

"You mean someone he loves did this to him?" Zac frowned.

"Not necessarily someone he loves… moreso someone who loves him."

"Like who?" Taylor shrugged, "I don’t know of anyone else this has ever happened to."

"And you most likely will never," the second man added, "it is only if the Doctor is dissuaded or interrupted that he moves onto someone you love. You could have been chosen at complete random and not know it."

"So… why, have we never heard of this? Why wait until something has actually happened until we get the heads up?" Zac asked.

"We cannot cause widespread panic for just one person in the world," the pastor amended, "most people on this Earth will go through life without ever hearing of it. Their children’s children’s children. They need not be worried by what will not harm them."

"So how do you keep track of who it happens to?" Taylor asked.

"We don’t," the third man replied simply, "we can simply hope we find his victims in time to do something to help. We haven’t had a case around here since… perhaps the 1940s."

"Do you know who had the Dream Doctor last?" Zac asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

"No," the pastor replied.

"Nor do we know where he has been since then. Each church to their own city. We will need to bring in help from across the metropolitan if we are to do anything."

"And why wouldn’t you?" Taylor squinted.

The pastor regarded him silently.

"It depends on what you decide during this time," the second man answered.

"You know what happens to them though, don’t you? The doctor’s… victims? They die, don’t they?" Zac almost stuttered.

"More often than not, I’m afraid."

"How do they die?"

Taylor glanced at him, worriedly.

The third man began to slowly stand.

"Your brother, I’m afraid, is already a walking time bomb," he replied.

He made his way over to Taylor and lifted the front of his shirt a little.

"The first night," he pointed to the small circular scar that had caused Taylor to collapse twice already, "he implanted a small sac of poison. At the end of thirty days it will have dissolved."

"But I’m getting that out," Taylor insisted, "I go into hospital tomorrow."

"Then you best hope it doesn’t break," the second man insisted, "for if it does, it’s over."


	33. 32

Isaac waited impatiently on the steps leading up to the main doors.

What the heck was going on in there?

It was certainly a long time before he heard the inside bolts being undone. He jumped up as soon as he heard footsteps, and waited until the door was opened.

The first person he saw was Zac.

"Zac! Where’s…"

Then he saw Taylor.

"Tay! What happened?" he demanded, going up and grabbing his arm.

"I suggest waiting until you are away from prying ears," the pastor recommended, "good day to you all."

And he closed the door.

Isaac hesitated.

"Fair enough," he agreed, "then let’s get home."

They found Isaac’s van and piled into it, the ride home plagued by silence. When they arrived, they went straight up to Isaac and Taylor’s room again and sat on the beds – Isaac on his, and Zac and Taylor opposite on Taylor’s.

"So what happened? And why was I locked out?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

Taylor looked to Zac.

"Well… obviously they know a lot about what’s going on," Zac began after a moment.

"The clock thing? It means three times six. The Dream Doctor’s been around since the ‘dawn of time’. Someone that loves Taylor sent this to him. And that thing he’s supposed to be getting removed tomorrow is supposed to kill him in twenty days, unless of course he commits suicide which is apparently something that the Doctor…"

"Zac, hold up," Isaac insisted, putting his hand up to silence him.

He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"This is a lot to swallow," he admitted.

"They told us all this in one go," Taylor’s eyes turned to Isaac, without moving his head.

He chuckled.

"I mean, they told me I was going to die. How else… How much worse can you get?"

"Yeah I know, I just…"

Isaac bit his fingernails, before after a moment realizing what he was doing.

"Ok, let’s start with round one. The clock thing?" he frowned, looking between them.

"Yeah. He goes under after six chimes, and wakes up after three?" Zac raised his eyebrows, "well it turns out it’s not six and three, it’s six times three. As in six, six, six."

"And…?" Isaac looked confused.

"It’s the signature number of Satan," Taylor said seriously.

Isaac just stared.

"Whoa," he stood up shaking his head, "what exactly are we dealing with here?"

Zac glanced at Taylor, then looked up.

"The devil’s resident sadist is what we’re dealing with."

Isaac turned around, scratching his head in disbelief.

"He just goes around preying on the innocent, so to speak."

Taylor hit him.

"Hey! And apparently there’s some way to… ‘dissuade’ the guy, but then he goes onto someone you love. So theoretically someone that loved Taylor did this to him."

"Except we have no idea who, because we don’t know anyone else that’s dealt with this before," Taylor added.

"We do have a rather large fan base you know," Zac scorned.

"Ok, ok…" Isaac breathed finally.

"I say… we go and get some lunch. That’s quite enough for now. Let me calm down, then you’re welcome to tell me all until your heart’s content."


	34. 33

"I think that today… was one of the longest days in history. Probably second to Paramus Mall."

Isaac chuckled as he took his shoes off.

Taylor glanced over at him, then returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"I wonder if he knows what happened."

"What?" Isaac looked up.

"Today. I wonder if he somehow knows where we went and what we did."

"We didn’t do anything if that’s what you’re worried about," Isaac insisted, "we merely… collected information. We know nothing that can get in his way. We still don’t quite know what we’re dealing with here."

"I guess."

"Put it this way," Isaac slid under his bedcovers, "it’s not like he can do much worse than what he’s already done."

"Another point."

Isaac sighed, looking him over.

"It’s going to work out, ok?" he insisted.

Taylor didn’t move.

"At least we know there could eventually be some kind of action taken."

"Well let’s just hope it’s not too late then. Good night," Taylor replied as the clock began to chime.

His eyes slid shut.

"Goodnight Tay," Isaac replied, before leaning over to turn the lamp off.

When Taylor opened his eyes, he was sitting up on the table. The first thing he heard was the sharp sound of hands clapping.

Looking to his right, he saw the Doctor walking towards him.

"Congratulations, Mr. Hanson. So you’ve been told the basics of what is going on. How smart of you to find out so… quickly."

Taylor managed to edge away without realizing he was moving, but when he did, he slid from the table and backed off further.

"That was hardly me," he said, his voice raspy and struggled.

"He approached me. Not the other way around."

The Doctor soon had him cornered against the back wall.

"But you hardly would have turned him away now, would you?" the Doctor asked rhetorically, pulling something from his pocket.

Taylor dare not look down.

"So what’s on the schedule for tonight?" he gulped slightly, staring into his eyes.

The Doctor looked down for a moment.

"Punishment. In due course."

He raised his arm and struck Taylor across the face sharply. Taylor yelled out, not having realized what the Doctor wore on his knuckles.

"Nifty piece of work this, eh?" the Doctor looked over the knuckle-duster consideringly.

"Certainly makes my job easier."

Taylor wiped his chin with the back of his hand, noting the blood that appeared from his split lip.

"Punishment for what?" he now looked weary as he looked up.

"For going behind my back of course," the Doctor replied.

"You have the slight advantage here Taylor. For you walk the Earth whenever you wish to. You seek help from who you wish to. And as long as you are not with me, I cannot deny you the privilege."

"Doesn’t that come with being born?"

The Doctor backhanded him and he cringed.

"Not in your case I’m afraid."


	35. 34

"Why me?" Taylor demanded, backing away along the wall, "why did you choose me?"

"I… did not choose you myself," the Doctor replied, having moved on from the knuckleduster some time ago.

He used the black mallet he held in his hand to suddenly dislocate Taylor’s right knee. Taylor cried out and collapsed to the floor, before the Doctor knelt next to him.

"Rather I am just doing what has been ordered."

"By who?" Taylor cried, gasping for breath.

"By the being that gave me this life."

The Doctor replaced Taylor’s knee and hesitated a moment, as if deciding what to do next.

Taylor panted a little, and grabbed at his knee. The Doctor rubbed the mallet with his thumb a little before standing again.

"Tomorrow night will be somewhat fun," he mused, returning to the cupboards.

"Why?" Taylor struggled.

"Well, you will be in the hospital of course. Perhaps I shall simply visit you in the physical world. Use their… tools instead of dirtying my own."

Taylor leant his head back against the wall, still trying to catch his breath. With a gulp, he attempted to stand up again.

"You are rather intent on defying me, are you not?" the Doctor mused suddenly.

"How do you mean?" Taylor rubbed his nose, before sighting blood on his hand from it.

"Well you may not be physically declining my advances, but up here," he tapped his right temple, "you have every intention of destroying me as soon as possible. I have this slight tendency to drown many of my… patients into depression rather quickly."

Taylor was still trying to wipe the blood from his face as the Doctor turned around.

"However you seem to be coming through quite well."

Taylor kept his eyes away from him, afraid of doing something he’d make him regret.

The Doctor tilted his head, regarding him curiously.

"Hmm. Must have something to do with those brothers of yours…"

Taylor’s head shot up.

"You can’t touch them, can you?" his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"I mean… this is all about me. You were sent to hurt me, right?"

The Doctor smiled.

"If hurting them hurts you, then it becomes part of my duty, does it not? It would not take much to have me bring them here. Would you like some company here in the future?"

"No!"

"Hmm. It would not be possible tonight I am afraid. Maybe sometime soon perhaps."

Taylor bit his lip and closed his eyes.

"But for now… let us continue."

Taylor suddenly felt something slip around his neck, and his eyes shot open again. His hands shot to the bar of the garrote and tried to pull it away.

"No! No, don’t!" he cried in protest, before the wire around his neck began to tighten.

"And why not?" the Doctor asked rhetorically, "are you not enjoying yourself?"

Taylor gasped for breath, struggling with the wire around his neck as his face turned red with the effort.

"I hear no complaints, do you?"

And just when Taylor’s chest felt as if it would burst, the Doctor let go.

Taylor fell down to his knees again, one hand holding him up and the other around his neck as he coughed and spluttered.

"Don’t make too much of a mess. Blood is so hard to get out of wooden flooring."

Taylor ignored him, falling onto his side as he tried to catch his breath again.

Then he noticed his nose and mouth bleeding again.


	36. 35

Isaac looked up in surprise as his door opened shortly before 6am.

"Zac?"

"Anything happened yet?" he yawned, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah. He’s a bit bruised and battered. You’re up early."

"So I wanted to be here when he woke up. Is that a crime?"

"Of course not," Isaac scorned, turning his eyes to the small alarm clock.

The clock began to chime, so Isaac grabbed Taylor’s hand. After the third chime, his eyes slid open again.

"Tay?"

Taylor looked across at him, then up at Zac.

"’Morning."

He sat up and rubbed his face – partly to feel where the resulting scars lay.

"So…?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

Taylor sighed.

"He just beat me up," he replied tiredly, "knuckledusters, mallets, something around my neck…"

"You’re pretty bruised. Want to have a shower or something?" Isaac suggested.

"I’m fine," Taylor insisted.

He glanced toward the clock, before getting up.

"They’ll make me have a shower at the hospital anyway. In prep for… that."

Isaac nodded.

"Do you want breakfast?" he asked as Zac opened the door again.

"Yeah, sure."

"I’ll get it," Zac offered, before disappearing.

"Are you sure you’re ok?" Isaac asked curiously.

"Ike, I’m fine. I’d tell you if I wasn’t," Taylor insisted, "he only left minimal scarring and anything else he did was only temporary."

"If you say so. I’ll go help Zac while you get dressed."

"Thanks."

Isaac followed Zac to the kitchen, closing the door behind him as Taylor began to get ready.

He walked in to see Zac making toast.

"What’s up?" he asked casually.

"Making breakfast. Can’t you tell?"

"I mean what’s wrong?" Isaac raised his eyebrows, leaning over the bench.

"You’ve been acting really weird."

"Look," Zac put the knife is hand down on the bench with a clutter.

"One of my best friends in the universe is being physically tortured every night in his sleep, and I can’t do a damn thing about it. No one can. Is that enough reason?"

"So where did you go the other night?" Isaac raised an eyebrow.

"That is none of your business," Zac scowled as the next lot of toast popped.

"Now if you don’t mind, I have breakfast to make."

"Why all the secrecy? Are you doing something illegal?" Isaac tried to understand.

"Ike… just leave it. Please."

Isaac shrugged.

"Sooner or later I’m bound to find out."

"Yes, you are," Zac insisted, tossing a plate in front of him.

"Eat."


	37. 36

A few hours later, the three of them were at the hospital.

Quite obviously to anyone who looked their way, Taylor was the most nervous. He was once again wearing the scarf and the long sleeved shirt, and although his fingers couldn’t keep still for a split second was still trying to avoid the numerous glances he was getting in the waiting room.

Isaac stood at the desk, talking to the woman sitting behind it. He soon returned to his brothers.

"There’ll be someone here to take you in in a few minutes," he said to Taylor with a nod.

"But you’re coming, right?" Taylor raised his eyebrows, looking more than a little worried.

"Tay, you’re in a hospital," Zac attempted to remind him as Isaac sighed, "you’ll be ok…"

"We don’t know that!" Taylor exclaimed, before looking ashamed at the outburst and trying to hide his face a little from the glares he was getting.

"You said he knew what we were doing," Isaac insisted, kneeling in front of him.

"So he would know that you were being admitted today. If he had a problem with it I’m sure he would have said so last night."

"He doesn’t have a problem with it," Taylor squinted slightly, "it’s the opposite. And that has me worried."

"The opposite?" Zac raised an eyebrow.

Taylor glanced at him.

"He said that because I was in a hospital that he wouldn’t have to take me anywhere. That he could use the tools that they have here."

"Then wouldn’t he be caught?" Zac shrugged as Isaac frowned.

"I’ve seen this guy disappear into thin air with my very own eyes," Taylor almost hissed.

"Mr. Hanson?" called a nurse from the door suddenly.

Taylor looked up, then looked pleadingly between his brothers.

"Please, at least one of you come with me. I can’t face this alone. What if they screw up?"

"They’re not going to screw up," Isaac insisted forcefully, standing up and grabbing Taylor’s hand to pull him up.

He turned to Zac.

"I’ll wait here," Zac nodded, "you go."

"See you tomorrow?" Taylor raised his eyebrows.

"Of course. See you tomorrow Tay."

Taylor nodded, then gave him a hug.

The nurse cleared her throat, so he pulled away and began towards her.

"I’m here," he sighed, glancing behind him to make sure that Isaac was there.

The nurse gave him a curious look.

"Ah… I’m with him," Isaac shrugged slightly, "do you… mind if I come along for a bit? I’m his older brother."

The nurse seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded curtly.

"Just don’t get in the way and I’ll allow you to stay until visiting hours are over."

"Thanks ma’am."

The nurse held her clipboard to her chest and began to walk away.

"Follow me please."

Taylor glanced at Isaac again before beginning to follow. As Isaac looked back he and Zac gave each other a thumbs up.

The nurse led them into a private hospital room.

"You will need to change into the hospital gown supplied. Today’s dinner menu will be brought around shortly. Wednesday morning when you are awoken you will need to shower with this," she picked up a small tube of gel from the bedside table, "…for hygienic reasons. The rest you will learn tomorrow or during preparations."

Taylor nodded and took a deep breath as Isaac rubbed his shoulder.


	38. 37

Taylor lay in the hospital bed, shivering nervously.

"Are you cold?" Isaac asked softly.

"Not really," Taylor replied, his eyes on the clock on the wall across from the bed.

Isaac looked up at the door as he heard footsteps approaching. As the nurse who was passing caught sight of him, she stopped in the doorway.

"Mr. Hanson… visiting hours are coming to an end."

"Yes, thank you. I’ll be leaving soon," Isaac nodded with a smile.

The nurse carried on.

Taylor took his hand.

"Call me?" he raised his eyebrows.

"You’ll be awake at 6am. I think it’s a bit too early. Do they even let calls through that early?"

"Fine, I’ll call you," Taylor sighed.

"Good. And you’d better, too," Isaac insisted, before standing up.

Taylor fell back against the pillow and turned onto his side.

"Should I call you before ten?" he asked.

"If you need to. I’ll always have my phone with me," Isaac replied.

"So… I’ll see you tomorrow?"

"I’ll be here at eight," Isaac smiled, before leaving.

Taylor closed his eyes for a moment, before rolling over onto his back. He didn’t know what would happen if he fell asleep before ten, and he wasn’t that willing to find out.

Television kept him entertained until a nurse heard it and came to shut it off at about 8:30pm. So until ten, he just had to keep himself awake as best he could.

At 9:30pm he called Isaac.

"Hello? Tay?"

"Yeah, it’s me. Ike… I’m bored. And trying to stay awake is hard."

"Why don’t you watch TV?" Isaac shrugged, glancing across at Zac who was sitting on Taylor’s bed.

"Well I was going to, until a nurse turned it off because it was disturbing everyone else."

Isaac chuckled, making Zac looked curious.

"Ok. Tomorrow I’ll see what I can do about sneaking in a Discman."

"Tonight would be perfect."

"Yeah well it’s a bit late. Are… you ok?"

"I’m ok. Just tired. And bored. And I have half an hour to go."

Isaac glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed.

"Ok. Ah… I will see you tomorrow morning at eight o’clock on the dot. But I will be expecting a call on my cell at 6am. Right?"

"Right," Taylor sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"Goodnight Tay."

"Goodnight Ike."

Isaac hung up.

"I’m surprised he hasn’t been given the third degree for the scars yet," Zac said absently.

"I’m sure they’re all curious," Isaac put his phone down on the dresser.

Taylor settled to humming to himself for the next half hour or so, wishing fervently that someone had left him a notepad to write new lyrics down.

He looked towards the clock as it closed in on 10pm. There was no grandfather clock, so he wouldn’t know exactly when he went under.

Isaac and Zac would, of course.

The clock hit ten, and Taylor began to feel dizzy. His eyes finally slid closed.


	39. 38

"I’ve changed the schedule a little for today," the doctor’s voice said calmly, as Taylor heard his footsteps coming closer.

He opened his eyes to find himself back in the doctor’s room, laying on the table.

The doctor stood over him for a moment and simply looked down on him.

"It has occurred to me that you may actually live through this… as much as I may dislike the idea. Therefore, I have begun to plan what to do with you after the deadline."

Taylor looked confused for a moment, before realizing he could move again. He sat up as the doctor stepped back a little.

"After the deadline?" he repeated worriedly.

"Well of course, I cannot touch you after our thirty nights are over," the doctor shrugged, "but I can however, make your life as difficult as possible."

Taylor looked around the room, wondering what he meant. Nothing had changed. So what was he talking about?

"How do you mean? What…?"

"Oh don’t worry yourself," the doctor waved him off, before Taylor almost choked as he tried to continue talking.

He stopped and rubbed his throat.

"Emotional scarring is as simple as physical scarring," the doctor said softly, reaching out the run his fingertips down Taylor’s right arm.

Taylor became more than a little unsettled to find he couldn’t move again.

The doctor smiled, before moving over to the chair and moving into the centre of the room. Then he returned to Taylor and slid a hand behind his neck before leading him over and into it. Once Taylor was seated, he sighed.

"I do not particularly like this type of thing. However the success rate is marvelous."

‘What?’ Taylor simply mouthed, hoping the doctor would catch on. He didn’t.

Slowly, the doctor ran his hands over Taylor’s shoulders, as if preparing to give him a massage. Taylor frowned in confusion, before the doctor leant down to his neck. Close enough for his breath to be felt. Taylor turned his head away and closed his eyes, beginning to catch on to what he was doing.

"If you get through this…" the doctor whispered into his ear, "I will enjoy watching you suffer for the years to come. And I will be watching."

Taylor shuddered under the doctor’s touch as he ran his fingers through his hair. Once again Taylor tried to say something, but failed.

The doctor moved around to the front of him, and clasped one of his hands in his own. Placing a hand around Taylor’s throat, he tilted his head.

"Do you know what I am doing?"

"Yes," Taylor whispered, keeping his eyes closed and head turned away.

The doctor trailed the fingertips of that hand down the front of Taylor’s chest, before wrapping that hand around his waist.

"And… what exactly am I doing?" he tested.

Taylor took a deep breath, his fingers quivering.

"You’re cutting me off. From everyone," he replied softly.

"How am I doing that at the moment?" the doctor smiled, rubbing Taylor’s skin with his thumb.

His hand ventured slightly lower, before settling onto his thigh.

"Because whenever someone touches me I’m going to relate it to this. Don’t!" Taylor exclaimed, his eyes opening again.

"Don’t what?" the doctor looked curious, not moving.

"This… this doesn’t… I mean, you’re not gonna…"

"Rape is certainly not part of my job description," the doctor insisted, almost thankfully.

Taylor closed his eyes again, slightly comforted.

"But when this is over… I doubt I shall have had to," the doctor added.

Taylor cringed, then tilted his head back.

"Well now, shall we continue?" the doctor raised his eyebrows, before silencing Taylor.


	40. 39

Isaac sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his phone impatiently.

Zac soon appeared in the doorway with a yawn.

"He hasn’t called yet," Isaac said before Zac could open his mouth.

Zac sighed and leant against the doorframe again.

"He’ll be fine," he insisted, "why don’t you call him?"

"It’s too early. I’ll get in trouble."

"Like that’d stop you."

"I do respect other peoples’ rights you know," Isaac scorned.

Zac raised his hands in surrender, then left the room. Isaac grabbed his phone and held it in his hand thoughtfully before glancing toward the alarm clock.

It was 6:14am.

Meanwhile, Taylor lay staring at the ceiling. It had already crossed his mind numerous times that he should call his brother. He was most likely worried sick. But something was stopping him.

He looked up at the clock, then across at the phone.

At almost 6:30am, Taylor finally picked up the phone and dialed.

Isaac raced from the hallway to where he’d left he phone on the kitchen bench and picked it up.

"Hello? Tay?"

"Yeah, it’s me," Taylor replied quietly.

"Well what happened? Are you alright?" Isaac stressed, his eyes on Zac as he came into the room.

"I’m ok, I’m fine. No bloodshed," Taylor replied, smiling slightly.

"Which of course, means no scars to show."

Isaac frowned slightly.

"Tay, tell me what happened," he insisted, leaning on the bench.

Taylor hesitated, glancing toward the window.

"I think that can wait until you get here. I’ll see you at eight."

He hung up.

Isaac stared at the phone for a second, before putting it down.

"So…?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"He wouldn’t tell me anything," Isaac sounded concerned.

"He said it could wait. But he doesn’t have any new scars to show for last night."

Zac frowned slightly, thinking that over.

"So if he wasn’t hurt, then…"

"I don’t know. We’ll find out soon enough. You’re coming, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. I’m… gonna take a shower."

Zac watched after him as he left the room, feeling more than a little worried. For the both of them.

Taylor sighed and put the phone down, staring up at the clock again.

Well why not. The clock was his life now. Just ticking away like it’d never run out.

He glanced toward the door as he heard someone walk past, then looked up at the TV.

What the heck?

He turned it on.

It wasn’t long before a nurse came to turn it off, but at Taylor’s request ended up simply closing the door instead.

If only he’d thought of that the night before.

He settled back to watching the news.


	41. 40

It was near on eight o’clock when the door opened for a second time. The first was breakfast, and now… Isaac and Zac.

"’Morning," Zac nodded as Isaac headed straight for chair by Taylor’s bed.

"Yeah," Taylor replied, watching Isaac.

"So what happened?" Isaac demanded.

Taylor stared at him for a moment, then turned the TV off and leant back against the pillows. Zac moved around so he was standing by the window after closing the door behind him.

"Well?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

"He assaulted me," Taylor’s eyebrows rose.

"He what?!" Zac exclaimed, moving closer.

Isaac grabbed Taylor’s hand, but he pulled it away.

"Tay, Tay… are you ok? He didn’t…" Isaac stuttered.

"No, nothing… that far. Just enough to…"

He cut himself off and rubbed his face, gazing toward the window.

"Just enough to really screw things up," he chuckled to himself.

Zac bit his lip and scratched his head.

"Are you going to be ok?" Isaac asked softly.

Taylor hesitated thinking it over.

"He meant this to be a long term thing Ike," he looked up finally.

"He meant… to cut me off from the world. And now I know that whenever someone… whenever I want to get close to someone there’s always going to be that reminder."

He cringed and Isaac looked toward Zac. He was staring out the window – one arm leaning against the frame.

"We will figure this out, alright?" Isaac insisted finally, "and I don’t care what we have to go through. I’m going to meet that old lady tonight, and she’s promised to tell me everything she knows."

"But what is knowledge?" Taylor shook his head.

"We can not stop this. We can learn everything about it and yet I’m still going to die either way."

"Don’t say that," Zac said sternly, "it’s not going to happen."

"We’re dealing with an age old tradition here. It’s not going to stop with me," Taylor insisted, shaking his head as the tears welled up.

"It’s just going to keep going and going. And I’ll just be added to the long list of victims that suffered the same… thing."

"It’s too early to give up, ok?" Isaac insisted, grabbing his hand again.

Taylor tried to pull away, but Isaac wouldn’t let go.

"We still have two and half weeks to go. And at the rate we’re going…"

He hesitated.

"At the rate we’re going we will find a way around this," Zac insisted, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"And I don’t care if we have to go through and… ‘dissuade’ him from every single member of the family, but you’re not going to die. Not for a very long time. Not until you’re old and wrinkly and covered in arthritis."

"Thanks for the picture," Taylor frowned.

"That’s reality," Zac raised his eyebrows, "and what you’re going through right now, is bullshit. You shouldn’t have to. And that is why we’re going to do this."

"I’m with him," Isaac nodded.

Taylor looked between them, then bit his lip.

"I’ll never get rid of the memories," he shook his head.

"But that you can get over," Isaac assured him, squeezing his hand.

"And we’ll help you every step of the way."


	42. 41

Isaac looked up at the house he’d come to.

It was 7:46pm that night, and Isaac was a little early for his meeting with the old woman.

Continuing to drive a little, he pulled into a neighbour’s driveway to turn around, then parked across from the house. Then he waited in the car for the following ten minutes or so.

When it was almost eight o’clock, he left the car. Locking it, he made his way over to the house. A security light came on as he stepped up to the porch and knocked on the door.

No answer. He knocked again.

"Who is it?" came the voice of the middle-aged woman he’d first seen with the old lady.

"My name is Isaac, I was asked here by the…"

The door opened.

"…Ah, by an elderly woman?"

The lady looked him up and down for a moment, before stepping back.

"I think she’s expecting you," she said finally, indicating for him to enter.

Isaac obliged, and she closed the door behind him.

"Follow me," she said, locking the door then leading the way down the hallway.

Isaac began to follow her, looking around as he did so. The house was old-style and very well furnished.

The woman stopped at a door beneath the staircase and began to unlock it. Isaac raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.

When the door was unlocked, the woman opened it and stepped back.

"Down there. Don’t spend too long," she warned.

"Only as long as I have to. Thank you."

Isaac nodded, then stepped through the door. He began making his way down the staircase in the dark, hearing a soft hum floating up toward him.

The door soon closed behind him, and Isaac heard the lock turn.

Feeling uneasy, he made it to the bottom of the staircase. To his right was an open doorway, which a soft red light filtered through onto the bottom of the stairs. The hum came to an end as he stepped through the door.

"Isaac?"

Isaac hesitated. He hadn’t told her his name, and as far as he knew hadn’t made any noise coming in. He carefully pushed aside the thin curtain in front of him.

The old woman sat at a round table, surrounded by candles behind red cellophane. Her eyes were fastened onto him, her hands spread over the table.

"Ah… hi," Isaac was obviously nervous.

"Come, sit," the woman gestured for him to sit across from her.

Isaac hesitated, but pulled the chair back a little from the table and did so.

"You’re, ah…"

"I am a psychic, yes."

"Obviously a very good one," Isaac held back a chuckle.

"Thank you. Now you haven’t been told of the Dream Doctor’s schedule, have you?"

"Taylor – my brother – knows something," Isaac shrugged, "but no, not much at all."

The woman dug into a small bag she had slung over her shoulder and then threw some small stones onto the table. She looked over them for a moment as Isaac just looked confused.

"And you shouldn’t know yet," she seemed to agree with something, "but you will. The Doctor is on a strict schedule. Everything he does to his victims is categorized… he does the same thing to each every day during the cycle."

"The pastors knew about that," Isaac said suddenly, "I mean, they took one look at Tay and knew how many days it’d been happening."

The woman nodded.

"I believe that this is the eleventh day. You don’t need to see the scars to guess dates. Just follow the moon."

"So you know what’s going to happen tonight?" Isaac asked hopefully.


	43. 42

"Indeed I do," the woman replied.

Isaac raised his eyebrows. She simply shook her head.

"It’s best for you to not know. It is out of your hands for now. Your brother is in need of help, and to put you or anyone around him into hysterics is not going to do him any good."

"When does he die?" Isaac asked seriously, as if demanding an answer.

"At the end of thirty days, as said already. The night of the new moon. But he doesn’t have to die, Isaac."

Isaac’s eyes fell, and the woman leant forward.

"He can end this alone, but he will not. He will need your help. And the help of young Zachary too."

"How can we help?" Isaac looked up.

The woman hesitated, then cleared the rocks from the table and put them back into the small bag. Then she pulled the tablecloth from the table.

Beneath it lay a circular diagram of the solar system, obviously able to assist in astrology and the like.

"Here," she pointed to the Earth and moon, "when the moon reaches this point is the only time that you can help your brother. The moon’s position is currently here."

"So how far away is that?" Isaac shrugged, clueless.

"Seventeen days."

"We’re getting a little close to the deadline, aren’t we?" Isaac asked nervously.

"This operation is not supposed to be thwarted," the woman said forcefully, "the safest thing would be to let the Doctor have his way. We are not supposed to interrupt. And as mere mortals we must wait until the time is right. We must abide by the rules. Or suffer the consequences."

Isaac took a deep breath, his eyes on where her fingers remained pointed.

"So what can I do to help?" he asked finally, "how can we dissuade him?"

"I can only tell you closer to the time," the woman insisted, quickly replacing the tablecloth.

"If you know before you can do something he will read your mind and you’ll lose any hope of completing your task."

"So for now we have to lay low?" Isaac’s eyebrows furrowed in worry, "he just… has to live with what’s happening to him?"

"If he is to survive this intact, then yes."

The woman looked up at the curtains suddenly, before continuing to straighten out the tablecloth.

"You must go now. Make sure your brother receives immediate trained medical assistance tomorrow morning."

"What? What for?" Isaac demanded.

"I cannot tell you. Now, go. I will contact you if need be. Go."

Isaac stood up and pushed the chair back in.

"Knock on the door and my daughter will let you out. Goodbye Isaac."

"Wait, what’s your name?" Isaac asked.

"You cannot know. Leave!"

"Ok, ok…"

Isaac gulped slightly and disappeared behind the curtain. He found his way up the stairs by way of the railing, and knocked on the door when he came to it. He soon heard it being unlocked, and the woman ushered him through quickly.

Once he was through, she locked it behind him again.

"Thanks again," Isaac insisted.

"Follow me."

The woman led him to the front door and turned the porch light on for him. She opened the door and stepped aside. Isaac went through and was about to thank her again before he heard the door close behind him and lock.

Looking curious, he began to head back to his car.


	44. 43

Taylor awoke to find large steel cuffs around his wrists.

He shot into a sitting position, before the doctor attempted to hush him.

"Now, now… there’ll be plenty of time for that later," he insisted, pushing him back down and paralyzing him.

Taylor gulped and closed his eyes, wondering what the heck was going on.

He bent below the makeshift bed, and Taylor heard a few clanks as he pulled something out. The doctor unfolded what Taylor soon saw as a gurney, and then stood up again.

"Now, I’ll need you over here," the doctor murmured, mostly to himself, before grabbing Taylor’s shoulder.

He gave him just enough movement to get onto the gurney, then paralyzed him again. He tried to ask what he was doing numerous times, but still couldn’t speak again.

As the doctor ventured behind Taylor, he began to hear the rattle of chains. Pulling Taylor’s hands out one by one, the cuffs were soon connected. Only then did Taylor realize they were also on his ankles, as the doctor headed to do the same to the other end.

"This will take the full eight hours to complete," the doctor revealed as Taylor jumped at another loud clank.

He felt the chains pulling tight, then heard the whir of a machine starting up.

Meanwhile, Isaac was arriving home. Zac met him at the front door with raised eyebrows, silently demanding an explanation.

"Inside," Isaac insisted.

They went through and up to Isaac and Taylor’s room, before closing the door. The majority of the other occupants were already in bed.

"So?" Zac demanded, sitting on Taylor’s bed as Isaac sat on his own.

"She says we can help him," Isaac replied, "but we have to wait for the right time. And she knows exactly what’s going to happen to him on what night. But she wouldn’t tell me anything other than that."

"So that was supposed to be helpful how?" Zac shrugged.

"Well at least there’s a faint glimmer of hope now," Isaac insisted.

"And we can tell Tay tomorrow too. Maybe he’ll wipe euthanasia from his mind altogether then."

Zac began to look uneasy, before Isaac glanced at the clock.

His fingers began tapping on his knee.

"I’d better call the hospital," he said finally, reaching for his phone.

"Why?" Zac looked up.

"She said he’d need immediate assistance in the morning or something. I’ll just request for them to check on him at six."

Zac waited patiently as it took a while for Isaac to get through, and for them to accept his request.

"Ok, they’re going to," Isaac ran his fingers through his hair.

"Talk about frustrating. We know something’s going to happen, we just don’t know what," Zac screwed his face up.

"Are you going to be there for the operation tomorrow?" Isaac asked.

Zac bit his lip.

"Yeah… can I get a lift from you then?"

"Sure. But I’ll be there from eight."

"No problem," Zac shrugged.

Isaac looked at him sideways.

"Why did you hesitate?" he asked curiously.

"Well I was deicing whether or not to go. It’s not like we can do anything while he’s in there. Besides hope, or panic, or…"

"Good point," Isaac sighed, as he set his alarm clock for just before six.

"I’ll see you in the morning then. Goodnight," Zac said, getting up to leave the room.

"Goodnight Zac."


	45. 44

Shortly before 6am, a nurse glanced upward at the clock on her desk. Realizing it was about time to check on Taylor, she rose from her seat and left the small office.

Curiously, she made her way down the empty hallway to his room and snuck a peek through his door. His eyes were open and he was staring up at the clock on the wall, motionless. The nurse could have sworn she saw a couple of tears falling from his eyes, so she stepped through.

"Mr. Hanson? Are you alright?"

When she received no reply, she stepped closer to his bed.

"Mr. Hanson?"

She hesitated, then waved her hand in front of his face. There were certainly tear trails down his cheek, and his eyes were pretty welled up. Concerned, she placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Then she saw him mouth the words ‘help me’.

"Mr. Hanson? What’s wrong?" she asked, clearly becoming more and more worried.

Taylor looked down to his arms and gulped slightly. The nurse went to check his pulse, before feeling how slack his arm seemed to be. Glancing up at his shoulder, she dropped his arm and let out a small scream.

"Did you ask them to call you?" Zac asked Isaac, again standing in the doorway as Isaac watched his phone hopefully.

"No, but I figured they’d… You know, if something was wrong."

"Well then they’d call the house phone," Zac reminded him.

"Just wait for him to call you. It’s the easiest way."

Isaac sighed, then got up to leave the room and follow Zac to the kitchen.

When an hour had gone by, Isaac was beyond worried. Ignoring Zac’s protests, he picked up the phone and called the hospital.

They wouldn’t give him any information over the phone.

Cursing to himself, he hung up.

"I’m going down there," he announced, grabbing a jacket.

"What, now?" Zac frowned, "Ike, there’s another hour until they’ll let you see him."

"Yeah well not if there’s something wrong. Are you coming?"

Zac hesitated.

"Call me when you know what’s happening. I’ll come down later for the operation."

Isaac grabbed his keys, said goodbye, and left.

The drive to the hospital was grueling. Every inch of the way not knowing if something had happened, or if Taylor just didn’t feel like talking to anyone. But he remembered fully well what the psychic had told him.  
That he’d need trained medical help.

He finally pulled up at the hospital and made his way inside. The woman at administration attempted to stop him.

"Sir, visiting hours have not started yet…"

"I just need to see my brother. Or see if he’s ok," Isaac insisted.

"In an hour, sir."

"No, please. I asked someone to check on him at 6 o’clock. I haven’t heard anything. Can I at least check on him?"

The woman hesitated.

"Wait here."

She disappeared behind the desk.

"What’s your brother’s name?"

"Hanson. Jordan Taylor, Hanson."

The woman made a quick phone call to find out what was happening. Her face soon twisted in concern – a feat that only increased Isaac’s worries. She soon hung up.

"What? What is it?" Isaac demanded as she came back, "is he ok? What happened?"

"Sir… they found your brother’s shoulders and hips dislocated. How did you know?"


	46. 45

"I didn’t know what would happen!" Zac heard Isaac exclaim as he made his way down the corridor.

A confused look sweeping across his face, he changed direction slightly to the office he’d heard his brother’s voice from.

"Forgive me for finding this hard to believe," came a deep voice, "you called last night to tell them to check on him at that precise time, and then show up…"

Zac made it to the door and looked through curiously. Isaac was standing beside an empty chair, two nurses behind him and two policemen in front of him.

"I wasn’t here. I can’t have done it," Isaac hissed between his teeth.

Zac raised his eyebrows and knocked on the open door. Their heads shot toward him.

"Ah…"

"Excuse me Sir…" one of the nurses began, making her way to the door.

"Zac! Zac, tell them. They think I did it. Tell them I didn’t."

"Did what?" Zac frowned, "did something happen to him or what?"

The nurse stopped suddenly, realizing Zac was involved.

"Come in," one of the policemen insisted.

Zac looked him up and down, before stepping through and closing the door behind him.

"Taylor himself will tell you that I didn’t do it," Isaac began again.

"Can you vouch for the whereabouts of Isaac this morning?" one of the policemen asked Zac, ignoring Isaac.

"Yeah, he was at home. With me. Our family," Zac shrugged.

"Until what time?"

"This… is insane," Isaac shook his head.

"Hold the boat here," Zac held his hands up, "will someone please tell me what the heck happened?"

"Your brother…" one of the nurses began.

"His hips and shoulders were dislocated," Isaac interrupted.

Zac frowned.

"Did he tell you how it happened?"

"They won’t let me see him!" Isaac exclaimed.

"Will you let me see him?" Zac asked, turning to the nurses.

"We will need to settle this matter, young man," the second policemen insisted, "your brother is looking at charges of grievous bodily harm."

"What?" Zac squinted.

"You really think he’d do something like this… to his own brother? Do you have any idea of who we are? How close we are, exactly?"

"Who you are is off topic for now. It is what your brother has done."

"He didn’t do anything!" Zac exclaimed, "He was with me. All night and morning. Our parents can vouch for that too."

"Call them," Isaac insisted, obviously very flustered.

"You’ll have to wait here as I do. Miss?"

One of the nurses nodded, and led the policeman from the room. Isaac groaned and sat on the chair.

Zac sighed and went over to him, beginning to rub his shoulder.

"We’ll get to him, ok? He’ll be fine. The operation’s today, don’t forget."

"I know."

It was a long time before the policeman returned to the room, and Zac and Isaac both looked up.

"Did you call them?"

"I did," the policeman nodded, and looked regretfully at his partner.

"They agree. They were both at the house until well after 6am."


	47. 46

Taylor looked up as his door opened.

"Tay?"

"Ike?"

Before anything else could be said, Isaac rushed over to him and they hugged.

"Ike… why wouldn’t they…"

"They thought I did it Tay."

Zac followed Isaac into the room and closed the door.

"What?"

Taylor frowned and pulled away.

"They thought I did it, because I knew that something was going to happen and you’d have to be checked on," Isaac shrugged, sitting down beside the bed.

"How did you know something was going to happen?" Taylor asked curiously, nodding at Zac in greeting.

Zac raised his eyebrows in reply, then moved over to the window again.

"Well… you know how I had to go and see that old woman last night?"

He waited for Taylor’s nod.

"Turns out she’s a psychic."

"What else did you find out?" Taylor demanded, sitting up.

"Don’t get too excited, not much," Isaac admitted, "she says that Zac and I have to help you out, but she won’t tell us how until closer to the deadline."

"So…?" Taylor shook his head, his lips pursed, "so… what do I do for now?"

"Live with it," Zac folded his arms.

"Live with it?" Taylor looked like he was about to start hyperventilating.

"It’s ok Tay," Isaac insisted, grabbing his hand again.

"You’re going to go in for the operation today and get that poison out. The doctor has to keep you alive until the end of thirty days. During that time we’re going to find out what we can do and then bloody well do it."

"Why the thirty days?" Taylor shook his head, his mind in a whirl.

"It follows the moon," Zac waved his hand slightly.

His brothers looked over at him.

"What? That’s what the psychic said. The cycle starts and ends at the new moon. Check a calendar. The night this started, there was a new moon. And at the end of thirty days there’ll be one too."

Taylor took a deep breath, then ran his fingers through his hair.

"Tay, what happened this morning?" Isaac asked quietly, "I only heard that… your shoulders and hips were…"

"Dislocated," Taylor ended for him.

"He tied my wrists and ankles to something that felt like it was trying to tear me apart. After about eight hours they just… slipped out."

"Ouch," Zac hissed.

Taylor glanced at him, but soon looked away.

"How long until you have to go in for prep?" Isaac asked.

"A couple of hours?" Taylor shrugged.

"I know they pushed it until later in the day because of what happened. But that’s all I know."

"How long does it go for?" Zac asked casually.

"The op? I don’t know. Maybe an hour or two."

"We’ll be here," Isaac insisted, squeezing his hand.

"Thanks," Taylor murmured.

"Mom and Dad are going to try and make it too," Zac added.


	48. 47

At 4:10pm that afternoon, Isaac and Zac struggled to keep themselves awake as they sat in waiting chairs in a hospital corridor.

Yet every time someone emerged from the nearby doorway their heads would shoot up.

"Hanson?" a male nurse eventually queried.

This prompted Isaac to shoot to his feet.

"Yes?"

"Your brother is fine, Sir."

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief as Zac finally stood up.

"So everything went fine?" Zac made sure.

"Indeed. What we found was rather surprising. I’m sure you’ll hear all the details later."

"When can we see him?" Isaac looked desperate.

"He’s just being moved into recovery now," the nurse glanced at his clipboard, "so possibly two hours. It may be easier just to come back tomorrow."

"We’ll wait," Isaac said decisively.

"Let’s go get something to eat," Zac suggested, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The nurse nodded before leaving, and Isaac turned to his brother.

"Let’s."

The two left the corridor and headed toward the hospital canteen area.

They returned to check that everything was fine an hour later, then as promised – at about 6pm – they demanded to see their brother.

Taylor looked up wearily as they entered the recovery room, and smiled slightly and closed his eyes when he saw who it was.

"Hey," he murmured.

"Hey Tay, how are you?" Isaac asked softly, standing beside the bed as Zac stood at the end.

"Ok."

"It went fine," Zac told him, "it’s out. And you’re alright."

Taylor opened his eyes again for a moment and smiled again.

"Cool."

"You’ll be out of here on Saturday they said," Isaac informed him, rubbing his arm encouragingly.

"Cool."

"They’ll take you back to your room in a bit," Zac added, "check the draws. Ike snuck something in for you."

Taylor glanced at Isaac for a second, before closing his eyes again.

"What?"

"You’ll find out," Isaac smiled slightly, "now… you need rest. So… we’ll see you in the morning?"

Taylor nodded slightly.

"Eight o’clock on the dot, I swear."

"That’s ok," Taylor murmured.

"Call us," Zac insisted, heading for the door.

"Yeah. Call me when you wake up. I’ll be waiting," Isaac insisted.

He leant over to give Taylor a hug, then made to leave the room.

"I’ll call," Taylor insisted, before drifting off to sleep again.

They looked back on him, then left the room and closed the door.

"Let’s hope not too much happens tonight," Zac raised his eyebrows as they made to leave the hospital.

"I don’t know," Isaac shook his head helplessly, "you know the doc can decide whether he’s tired or not. Let’s hope he’s more awake when the time comes, that’s all."


	49. 48

"That wasn’t very nice, Taylor."

Taylor gulped slightly as the doctor stepped closer. His eyes didn’t open until the doctor grabbed his arm and pulled him from the bench over to the chair.

"Ruining my creation."

He tutted slightly as he locked Taylor’s wrists into place on the arms, and fussed with something on the bench behind the cupboard.

"What are you gonna do?" Taylor stammered, keeping his eyes on him.

He wasn’t feeling any of the effects of the operation, and was quite awake and alert despite the drugs in his system.

"A little punishment, in due course."

Taylor caught a slight smile on his face.

"I know that you are a musician."

"So?" Taylor’s eyebrows crinkled in worry.

The doctor lifted a small wooden box with bolts attached from the bench and brought it over to him. He knelt on Taylor’s right side and began to attach it to the arm of the chair.

"What is it?" Taylor stammered again.

The doctor, in his usual sinister way, gave no reply.

"Please, what is it?" Taylor begged, "what does it have to do with my profession? Please?"

The doctor ignored him as he finished attaching it to the arm of the chair. Glancing at Taylor, he stood, then took hold of Taylor’s wrist and slid his hand into the box.

Taylor felt small tunnels inside the wooden frame for his fingers, and they were spread accordingly. Closing his eyes for a moment, he silently prayed.

"That will do you no good," the doctor said decisively.

He fiddled with a couple of straps attached to the box, locking them around Taylor’s wrist to hold it in place.

"Tell me what’s in there," Taylor shook his head pleadingly.

"There’s no need when you’ll soon be finding out," the doctor insisted, standing and placing his hands either side of the box.

His index finger round a small button on the side and pressed it inward.

Taylor’s facial expression changed to one of shock, before the doctor waved his hand in front of his face to make sure he couldn’t yell out.

"I would still like to be able to hear after tonight," he said decisively.

Taylor didn’t hear him.

His mouth opened wide, so he didn’t have to choke himself trying to hold back.

The doctor began to unstrap the box from Taylor’s wrist, unbolt it from the chair, and pull it away. Blood immediately spilled to the floor.

He tsked slightly, then went to fetch some cloth to clean it up.

Realizing it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, he fetched a small cup and placed it under Taylor’s hand. The blood flowing from where Taylor’s pinky finger used to be began to pool in the bottom.

Eventually, Taylor managed to close his mouth and open his eyes again. His face had gone bright red in his attempt to hold everything in, and his eyes had managed to well up without letting any tears fall.

"See what I mean?" the doctor began.

"I’ve used a guillotine on your finger, yet you still manage to remain conscious. And you’re certainly not a masochist as far as I can tell."

Taylor squeezed his eyes shut again and tilted his head back. His feet dug into the ground and the knuckles on his left hand had turned stark white with his grip on the arm of the chair.

The doctor chuckled slightly, searching through the cupboard for something to quell the bleeding at least a little. He soon found some cotton wool and a bandage, and began to efficiently stop up the end of Taylor’s finger and wrap the bandage around it.

Taylor cringed as he did so, before his arm started shaking uncontrollably.

"That is officially the most annoying thing," the doctor shook his head, "the nerves when they react. Never mind."


	50. 49

"Three days in a row. Three days in a row," Isaac shook his head.

"Staring at it’s not going to make it ring you know."

"Why hasn’t he called?"

"How the hell should I know?"

Isaac glanced up at Zac.

"What if something else happened?"

"Well of course something’s happened," Zac rolled his eyes, "it just depends on what."

"Not helping."

"Well what am I supposed to say?" he demanded, "’no, nothing probably happened’? Need I remind you that we’re dealing with Satan?"

"No. Don’t remind me."

Isaac stood up.

"I’m going to have a shower. If he calls…"

"I’ll barge in and tell you," Zac smirked, taking the phone off him.

By eight o’clock, as promised, they were back at the hospital and headed for Taylor’s room. Before they got to his door, Zac shook his head.

"Something’s wrong," he said decisively.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence."

Isaac turned the doorknob and opened the door. Taylor was just staring into space, his face slightly red.

"Tay?" Isaac frowned slightly, making his way over and leaving Zac to close the door.

Taylor looked up at him, then turned his attention back to the wall he was staring at earlier.

"Hey Ike. Zac."

"What happened?" Isaac asked softly, "Why didn’t you call us?"

Taylor shrugged slightly.

"Because I’m not used to it yet."

Isaac frowned.

"Not used to what? Picking up a phone?" Zac asked curiously.

"Yeah."

Isaac and Zac exchanged worried glances.

"Can I ask why?" Isaac shook his head.

Taylor looked down for a moment, then rubbed his face with his left hand as he held out his right.

"That’s why."

"WOAH!" Zac exclaimed, jumping back a little.

Isaac cringed, and gulped.

Taylor hid his hand under the sheets again.

"I’ve been telling the nurses I came in like that. They were curious at first but soon dismissed it," he explained softly.

"That’s… that’s…" Zac stuttered, trying to get his words straight.

"That’s kind of far, don’t you think? Doesn’t he think?" Isaac amended.

"Yeah, that."

"I don’t know," Taylor shrugged, "he only did it because he knows I’m a musician."

He sniffed slightly and rubbed his nose with his left hand.

"Dammit, I need to go back to that old lady."

"And I need to come with you," Zac insisted.

"No, no," Taylor insisted, shaking his head, "if she said to leave it, leave it. You’ll probably do more harm than good if you don’t do what she says."


	51. 50

"You’re taking this rather well."

"How else am I supposed to take it?" Taylor frowned, looking up at Zac, "what good is it going to do if I start getting all depressed, or if I just panic? A lot of help that’s going to be…"

"Might get in the doctor’s good books for freaking out," Zac shrugged.

"And you’d love to put up with me freaking out?"

"Hold the phone," Isaac interrupted.

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Can we not settle this like rationalized individuals?" Isaac’s brows furrowed.

"You know what?" Taylor raised his eyebrows, "I don’t think we can. No."

Isaac sighed and glanced at his watch. Visiting hours were almost over, and he hated the idea of leaving Taylor flustered.

"You can’t wait to get away from me, can you?" Taylor squinted slightly.

"Believe me. As much as you are a pain in the ass, we’d rather be spending more time with you than without you," Zac insisted with a nod.

Taylor glared at him.

"And you think that…"

"I meant in general, Blondie. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Then you might not snap at us so much when we’re trying to help you."

Isaac raised his eyebrows, waiting for Taylor’s response.

Taylor glanced at him, then looked down at his hands as he fidgeted a little.

"Stop playing with it," Isaac said softly.

"It’s my… lack of a finger. I’ll play with it if I want to."

Isaac shrugged in surrender, then looked up at Zac.

"We’re gonna get told off soon," Zac insisted.

"Why would that stop you?" Isaac shrugged again.

"It wouldn’t. I’m just saying."

"You can go you know," Taylor said softly, "I can handle it."

Isaac took his left hand again and squeezed it slightly.

"We know you can. But you need help," he emphasized, "and you have to realize that we will get it to you. No matter how long it takes."

"I know already. So just go."

Isaac glanced at Zac again, who shrugged. He leant forward to hug Taylor again – receiving no reaction – before standing up.

"Don’t flake out on me this time. Call," Isaac ordered.

"Ok, ok. I’ll call."

"Good, because if you don’t…"

"Ike, shut up," Zac demanded, grabbing his shoulder.

"We’ll see you in the morning Tay."

"Yeah, sure. See you."

Looking more than a little disheartened, Isaac followed Zac from the room and closed the door behind him. Taylor let out a groan and fell back into the pillows, closing his eyes.

"Should he be moody?" Zac asked halfway down the corridor.

"Well he has every right to be," Isaac shrugged hopelessly, making it to the elevator and pressing to go down.

"Just thought that might have something to do with it, that’s all."

"Not everything he says or does has to be tied into what’s happening," Isaac rationalized.

"Yeah I know. It was just a thought."

The elevator finally came, and they stepped into it and pressed for the ground floor.

Isaac checked his watch again. Just under two hours to go.


	52. 51

Taylor kept his eyes on the clock, as always, as it reached 10pm. He closed his eyes for a moment, and soon opened them again.

He was still in the hospital room.

Frowning slightly, he sat up a little and looked around. Nothing had changed.

Then the bathroom door suddenly opened, and the doctor appeared. Taylor jumped.

"Sorry if I startled you," the doctor apologized, making Taylor’s face twist in confusion.

He went over to the door and closed it behind the last nurse who’d left the room, then came over to the bed and began closing the curtains.

"What are you doing?" Taylor stammered nervously, shifting slightly on the bed as if he was getting ready to bolt.

"You’ll be checked on next just after midnight. We have two hours, then you will have a short break. Then I will be back."

Taylor gulped slightly, keeping his eyes on him.

"You’re doing this… here? In real time?"

"Of course. Which means we also cannot disturb anyone."

The doctor waved his hand in front of Taylor’s throat. Taylor’s hand shot to it, trying not to cough.

He disappeared behind one of the curtains and fussed around a little, before wheeling a small trolley through. On it sat a stainless steel tray full of different surgical tools.

Taylor’s eyes widened as he began to edge away.

The doctor quickly grabbed his arm, paralyzing him before he could get very far. Moving around to the other side of the bed, he pulled the sheets back and away before maneuvering Taylor into a more suitable position. Then he removed the pillows so that Taylor was flat on his back.

Deliberating for a moment, he cut open the hospital gown that Taylor wore, before going to find a replacement for when he left. He soon returned and selected a scalpel from the tools in the tray.

Taylor took one last look up at him before closing his eyes.

"But isn’t it more interesting when you watch?" the doctor chuckled slightly, before lowering the knife to Taylor’s skin.

Taylor cringed as he felt the knife penetrate, then his eyes welled up again as it went deeper.

Within an hour, the doctor placed his appendix in a small dish on the tray. Taylor kept his eyes practically glued shut, not willing at all to see what he’d done.

"Step one is over," the doctor sighed, sounding almost regretful.

"Now for step two."

And he went in again.

When it was almost midnight, the doctor began furiously collecting his things. Still, Taylor kept his eyes closed.

He began pulling the curtains open, and Taylor heard him open the door. Then he came back over and wiped the tears from Taylor’s face, paralyzing his face in doing so.

Taylor panicked for a moment, wondering what was going on as he’d completely lost track of time.

The doctor then placed something over Taylor’s stomach area and replaced the sheets over him, completing the illusion that he was simply asleep.

Moments later, the nurse on nightshift entered the room.

She looked Taylor over calmly, checked that everything was in order, marked something on his clipboard to show she’d been there, then left again.

The doctor, chuckling to himself, closed the door behind her before returning the room to his preference. He soon released his hold on Taylor’s face, and his eyes shot open as he gasped for air.

"Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?" the doctor smiled down on him, bring his trolley back inside the curtained area.

He pulled the sheets back again and replaced his surgical gloves.

"Another few moments and this could have been finished. But never mind."

He continued the delicate task of removing one of Taylor’s kidneys.


	53. 52

When it was about 5am – and Taylor could only tell by hearing the doctor mutter to himself in complaint – he began to hear voices. He couldn’t be sure if they were just people walking past his door, or if there were actually people in his room.

"Taylor…" the doctor began, to get his attention.

Taylor strained to look up at him.

"I’d like you to meet some people. I will give you minimal amount of speaking ability, as we still do not need to disturb anyone."

He placed his hand around Taylor’s throat, before he jumped slightly as he heard the curtains move.

"Taylor, this is Claude," the doctor introduced a man who’d appeared.

Taylor gulped slightly as his eyes fell on him. He was a man – little older than he – clad with many layers of clothing, a large rimmed hat, scarf and sunglasses. From what he could see of his hands – clasping a walking cane – there seemed to be a henna-like scar pattern. His mouth was hidden from sight behind a bandanna.

"Taylor," he nodded, his voice rasping.

He coughed.

Taylor glanced toward the doctor, wondering what was going on.

"Claude here, is an old acquaintance of mine," the doctor said finally, slapping the younger man on the shoulder.

"How so?" Taylor struggled to say, still unable to move.

The doctor glanced at Claude, before he stepped forward and roughly took Taylor’s hand into his own. The doctor had stepped back a little to make room for him.

Taylor gulped again, looking down at his hand. It felt cold.

Then the doctor took the sunglasses away from Claude’s eyes.

Taylor took one look at them and started to hyperventilate.

"He was one of my… rather complicated patients," the doctor said admiringly, tilting his head as he looked Claude over.

"Like you he had the sac removed. So I had to… resort to other measures."

Taking the wrist that held Taylor’s hand, he began to roll up Claude’s sleeve. Claude remained motionless as the scars up his arms were revealed, before the doctor twisted his wrist.

Taylor yelped slightly, and forced his eyes closed. Claude’s wrists had obviously been slashed… and his arm had begun to mutilate.

The doctor smiled slightly, rolling Claude’s sleeve down again. Claude watched with his stark red eyes, before finally letting go of Taylor’s hand and grabbing his walking cane.

Taylor tried to hold back the nausea that was quick to follow.

"You see Taylor…" the doctor began softly.

"I will win. I always win. Whether or not you survive this, I will always be there."

Taylor’s eyes welled up again as he desperately tried to compose himself.

The doctor hesitated, then used his fingertip to follow the traces of a tear down Taylor’s face.

"Open your eyes."

He did so. The doctor smiled.

"Your brothers can not help you. And they will not help you. This whole system is operated around you, and therefore no one – not even your brothers as much as they say they can – can intervene. Understand?"

Taylor nodded slightly, biting his bottom lip.

"Good. Claude, you may go."

Claude nodded, and disappeared behind the curtain.

"He was not from as long ago as it may seem," the doctor began again, standing up.

"Claude has only been dead for a few months."

"Is that… how you’re going to kill me?" Taylor struggled.

The doctor shrugged.

"It depends on how strong you are at the time. That… was a last resort."


	54. 53

Isaac sat staring at the phone again.

"Ike, he’ll call," Zac insisted.

"Yeah that’s what we said the last three times."

"Bad things come in threes," Zac shrugged, "so he’ll call this time."

"We don’t know…"

The phone rang and Isaac snatched it up.

"Hello? Tay?"

"Ike, before you say anything, don’t ask me what happened," Taylor’s voice insisted.

"Why? Why not?" Isaac frowned.

"Well… you’ll see when you get here. I… I’ve gotta go. But I’ve moved wards, so ask the nurse where I am when you get here."

"You moved? Why?"

"I’ll tell you when you get here. It’s just a corridor over, not far."

"Ok then…"

"I’ll see you when you get here. Bye."

"Bye."

Isaac stared at the phone for a moment after Taylor hung up, then switched it off.

"He did what?" Zac’s eyebrows rose.

"He moved wards, and wouldn’t tell me why."

"Then we’ll find out at eight no doubt," Zac insisted, "now come on, have a shower. You stink."

"Thanks a lot."

Two hours later, they were at the hospital again.

The nurse on duty directed them to Taylor’s room, and they soon found him again.

"Tay?" Isaac fretted the moment he saw him.

"Hey, slow down," Taylor insisted, sitting up.

He winced slightly at the pull in his stitches.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine," Taylor replied, glancing at Zac as he came in and closed the door.

"So what happened?" Isaac asked, "and why did you swap rooms?"

Taylor hesitated, wondering how much he could get away with telling him.

"I swapped rooms Ike, because when I talk to dead people I don’t expect them to answer back."

Zac’s eyebrows rose again.

"What?" Isaac just looked confused.

"Well after he took out my appendix and my kidney, he introduced me to one of his past… patients, victims, whatever."

"After he what?" Zac demanded, moving around the bed to his side.

"So the guy was dead?" Isaac made sure.

"Very dead," Taylor insisted, "very… grossly… dead."

"He took out your kidney?" Zac continued, looking disgusted.

"Well it’s not like I need two to stay alive, you know," Taylor shrugged.

"What else?" Isaac demanded.

Taylor looked him over warily.

"What do you mean what else?"

"I know you Taylor. What are you not telling us?"

Zac settled down on a nearby chair, ready to listen.


	55. 54

Taylor sighed and glanced at the clock again. Just after midday.

Zac had gone home, and Isaac had gone to get lunch while Taylor attempted to eat his own. For some reason he wasn’t all that hungry.

However, the knife they’d given him to eat it with had suddenly begun to look very appealing…

"Back," came Isaac’s voice from the door.

Taylor looked up to see him enter the room and close the door, brushing his hands off and still chewing remnants from his meal.

"You couldn’t wait until you finished eating before you came back?" Taylor raised his eyebrows, talking quietly.

"The cafeteria is just down the hall," Isaac shrugged by way of explanation, "and besides, I don’t know anyone there."

"Well you should by now. You’ve been going there long enough."

"Tay, not everyone who goes there every day goes there the same time that I do," Isaac raised his eyebrows, sitting down.

Taylor sighed and leant back.

"I notice you haven’t touched yours."

"I’m not hungry."

Isaac looked him over.

"You’ve gotta eat Tay. If you don’t eat you might not be out of here by Saturday."

"And what does it matter if I’m not? Honestly?" Taylor frowned, talking mainly to himself.

"You can’t let him win," Isaac enforced, sitting up and leaning over the bed slightly.

"We won’t let him win. They said he can be dissuaded and he will be. You’ve got to believe that."

"Do I?" Taylor looked up.

"Because right now there isn’t much to believe in. Except that my fate lies at the hands of this… Dream Doctor."

"But it doesn’t," Isaac insisted.

"What happens to you is not up to him, you hear me? Now don’t do anything stupid Tay. Don’t give up before we find out for sure if we can help you or not. At least give us a chance. We’re your brothers, you know us. Please?"

Taylor stared at him, before grabbing the TV remote.

"Please Tay?" Isaac begged.

"Alright, alright. I won’t give up."

Isaac sighed and sat back as the TV came on.

"Zac will be here to pick me up just before eight. Are you going to be ok until ten?" he asked softly.

"Ike, I’m not a child. I can handle it. And have done before."

Isaac shrugged.

"That was before last night. Never mind."

"I’ll be forgetting last night. Hopefully with your help," Taylor insisted.

Isaac hesitated.

"Sure," he said finally, scratching his head.

"And… you should really eat something."

"I’ll eat it when I’m hungry. Can you find something to put it on for later?" Taylor asked, looking up.

"I’ll find something," Isaac nodded, before standing up.

He left the room in search.

Taylor’s eyes ventured to the blade again, before he reached over to grab it.

He could end it all in a matter of moments.

Or couldn’t he?


	56. 55

Taylor awoke to the sound of barking dogs. Or what seemed to be barking dogs at least.

Looking confused, he sat up on the doctor’s bed.

"Why, welcome back Taylor. Almost give in to temptation today?"

Taylor turned slightly, seeing the doctor beside him with a smile on his face.

"A few times," he said softly.

"Oh you’ll get there eventually. Tonight will be pretty straightforward. Step down."

Taylor looked around nervously, wondering where the barking was coming from, before sliding from the bed and inching away from the doctor.

"Your brother has been trying to reassure you, hasn’t he?" the doctor looked curious.

"You should know," Taylor glanced up for a split second before looking down again.

"Why yes, I do," the doctor nodded slightly, "but does it hurt to give my patients a little freedom of thought every now and then?"

"Why?" Taylor looked up again, "it’s not true anyway."

The doctor shrugged.

"Some like to latch onto whatever they can possibly believe in. Whether it be fact or fallacy, it really does not matter."

"Well it does to me," Taylor insisted turning away.

He squinted at the opposite wall slightly, registering that it was the general direction the noise was coming from.

"Does it really?" the doctor tilted his head.

"For you, I’m not sure that it does. Do you not wish to latch onto any small hope available to you?"

Taylor remained silent as the doctor drew closer and looked down on him.

"You still believe that there is a chance your brother’s word are true," he said softly.

"So what if I do?" Taylor looked up, shaking slightly.

"Is it not my job to bring you back to reality, so to speak?" the doctor asked as Taylor turned away again.

"What kind of reality –"

Taylor was cut off as the doctor slapped his hand around his throat and held his head in place.

"My kind of reality," he said softly.

"We have but two weeks remaining together. Tomorrow night marks halfway. On the night of the new moon you will be mine forever and nothing will stop me from making that, my reality. Whether you give up before then or not is for you to decide. Should you do so, I can not stop you."

He let go of him and stepped back a little.

"Well then, we should be getting on with tonight’s proceedings."

Taylor’s eyes fell to the floor, before he reached for the cupboard, backed against it, and slid to the ground.  
The doctor reached under the bed and pulled out a large square of rusted tin that looked somewhat like a pet door. Looking it over for a moment and glancing at Taylor, he went over to the opposite wall and set it down.

He hesitated a moment, before opening the small door.

Taylor looked up as the growls increased, in time to see three large timber wolves stalking through the tin frame.

"What the…?"

The doctor bent over slightly and scratched one of the wolves behind the ears.

"Enjoy," he smiled sinisterly.

He grabbed the wolf by the ruff for a moment, before launching it toward Taylor. Taylor froze in fear as the wolves suddenly raced forward and jumped into the attack.

The doctor stood up and watched as they began to tear into his skin, drawing blood and forcing Taylor to cower underneath them.

"This can go on for as long as I wish," he chuckled to himself, "and it will."


	57. 56

Not a minute past 6am, Isaac’s phone rang and he snatched it up.

"Hello?"

"Ike, I need you to get me out of here," Taylor sounded nervous.

"Tay, we will. We’ll be there in two hours. But you know they have to check you over before…"

"No. I’ll ask them about it early and see if they can check me over before eight. As soon as you get here I want to leave."

"Tay, what happened? Yesterday you didn’t want to leave, and now you can’t wait to get out?"

Taylor hesitated, biting his lip.

"I just need you guys right now, ok?" he insisted.

"And we’ll come for you. Just hold on for two hours and we’ll be there, alright? We can be there when they check you over. It’ll turn out fine."

Taylor took a deep breath.

"Ok. I’ll see you at eight?"

"Yeah you will. See you Tay."

"Bye."

They hung up, and Isaac looked up at Zac.

"That sounded a little… discontent?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"Something spooked him. He wants out as soon as possible," Isaac shrugged.

"And…?"

"I told him we’d be there at eight to see him out."

"Did he tell you what happened?"

Isaac shook his head.

When the two of them arrived at the hospital, Taylor wasn’t in his room.

"So now what do we do?" Zac shrugged as they looked up and down the corridor.

"Wait, I guess."

"What if they moved him?"

Isaac hesitated, then went over to a small office nearby and drew the attention of the nurse stationed there.

"Could you tell me where our brother is? Please?" he asked her.

"Taylor? Sure. He’s just gone for a check up. He should be back shortly."

Isaac nodded.

"Ok thanks."

"Didn’t he say he’d wait?" Zac frowned.

"Yeah he did. He must be more spooked than I thought," Isaac scratched his head.

"Soon find out," Zac reasoned before sitting on a nearby chair.

It wasn’t all that long before they spotted him coming back down the hallway with some paperwork in his hands.

"Tay?" Isaac stood straight away.

Taylor froze, before catching sight of them.

"Hey," he smiled slightly, "I’m… I was just… We’re getting out of here."

"So we figured," Zac shrugged.

"I have to come back in on Monday though," Taylor admitted, walking past them and into his room.

"Why?" Isaac asked curiously, "that’s a bit early for a check up, don’t they think?"

"It’s not for a check up," Taylor admitted, putting the papers down and turning.

They raised their eyebrows.

"It’s for a psychiatric examination."


	58. 58

"A psychiatric examination? Tay…"

"They think I’m doing it to myself," Taylor shook his head, sitting down on the bed.

Zac hesitated a moment, before kicking the door shut.

"What happened last night?" Isaac asked.

Taylor hesitated, before pointing out some scars on his arms, legs and face.

"Wolves," he said by way of explanation.

"You were attacked by wolves?" Zac frowned.

Taylor shrugged, looking down at his hands.

Isaac thought for a moment, then sighed.

"Ok, we can do this. Do you know what kind of examination they’re going to do?"

"I don’t know," Taylor shrugged again, shaking his head, "some kind of questionnaire I guess. I don’t know if they’re going to ask me about it."

"They should put you on a lie detector," Zac suggested, before seeing the looks he got.

"What? It’d work."

"I just don’t know why they think it," Taylor looked confused, "I mean… it’s not as if I can dislocate both arms and legs simultaneously. And these are scars – it’s like they didn’t happen recently."

"I guess they have to explore all angles," Isaac suggested, "just… try not to let on that it’s some kind of… domestic abuse. Whatever you do. They might take you away from us and then we’d have no hope of helping."

"If you could anyway," Taylor mumbled, dropping his head.

"Excuse me?" Zac raised his eyebrows, "Tay, once the timing’s right…"

"Did you ever stop to think that the timing might not ever be right?" Taylor interrupted, looking up.

"What did he say?" Isaac demanded.

Taylor hesitated, taken aback by the question.

"He just…"

He cut himself off and shook his head. Then he stood and made his way into the bathroom, closing the door.

"What do you think he said?" Zac asked quietly, slipping his hands in his pockets.

Isaac’s eyebrows furrowed as he considered.

"Something about us not being able to help him, but I don’t know… It seems like there’s something else this time."

Zac nodded, then ran his fingers through his hair.

"We’re not going to get anything out of him until he’s ready to talk to us," he said finally, "so… I think we should just leave it."

Isaac shook his head.

"Something’s not right about this."

"Ike, nothing is right about this," Zac scorned, raising his voice slightly.

Isaac held up a finger.

"Don’t start with me. You know what we need to be focused on."

Zac hesitated, then took a deep breath.

"Sorry. I’ll wait outside. Need me to carry anything?"

"No, we don’t have much."

Zac left the room, and Isaac began packing most of Taylor’s stuff. It was quite a few minutes before Taylor reappeared.

"Are you ok?" Isaac made sure.

Taylor just nodded, before starting to help him pack.

"Zac’s waiting for us."

"So I heard."


	59. 58

"We need to sit down, and we need to have a damn good talk," Taylor demanded as they set foot through the front door.

"The bedroom," Isaac suggested, lugging Taylor’s bag on his shoulder.

Zac led the way up to their bedroom. The house was pretty much deserted due to the wedding of a relative that day.

When they got up to the room, Isaac dumped the bag on Taylor’s bed, then closed the door once they were all inside.

"So?" Zac raised his eyebrows, settling on a chair he’d moved in there a few days earlier.

Taylor glanced at him then settled onto his own bed – Isaac taking up post across from him.

"So euthanasia is looking very enticing these days."

"Tay, no…" Isaac immediately interrupted.

"Ike, stop for a second," Taylor insisted, holding his hand up.

"At least wait until you’ve heard my side of the story."

"We know your side," Zac looked confused, "and we’ve already decided that…"

"No, you don’t know my side," Taylor corrected, "because I only just realized last night what is really going on."

Isaac and Zac shared a worried glance.

"What do you mean?" Isaac finally asked.

Taylor hesitated, before bringing his right foot up onto the bed and leaning his arms over his knee. The sight of the burn scars covering his arms made Zac turn away.

"If this goes how he planned it to, I’m not just going to die," Taylor said seriously, his eyes on Isaac.

"If he’s the one to kill me, I will be condemned to hell for all eternity. As one of his. And as far as I know that means I’ll stay living as my body mutilates around me."

"Oh Tay," Zac cringed, looking disgusted.

"Live with it Zac," Taylor waved him off.

"So…" Isaac motioned for him to go on.

"So if he can’t kill me," Taylor went on, "my best guess is that won’t happen. And if I want to kill myself during the day – before that time – then he can’t stop me."

"That’s why," Isaac sat back against the wall, "you’re seriously considering this, aren’t you?"

"You’re damn right I’m really considering this."

"Tay, we still have a chance of helping you," Zac shook his head, "and I don’t know about Ike, but I really don’t want to give that up. I think if there’s even a five percent chance that we can save you then that should be worth striving for."

Isaac remained silent, as Taylor looked between them.

"Please?" Zac almost begged.

Silence again.

"Ok look," Zac began, getting frustrated.

He leant over and clasped his hands together.

"We’re only on what… day fifteen? We’re only halfway. We still have almost a fortnight to work with this. I say we wait. And if we can’t help you just before it’s too late, I…"

He hesitated, trying to keep himself together.

"Then maybe taking your own life is the way to go. But not until then, at least."

"But if I’m going to kill myself anyway, wouldn’t it be better sooner than later? So I don’t have to go through this anymore?"

Taylor frowned.

"But we don’t know for sure that you have to kill yourself, and you need to get out of that mindset," Zac insisted.

Taylor considered that for a moment, before looking up at Isaac.

"Ike? What do you think?"

Isaac remained motionless for a moment, before looking up.

"This is up to you Tay," he shrugged, "in the end, it really doesn’t matter what we think."


	60. 59

When Isaac saw Zac look at his watch for the hundredth time, he raised an eyebrow.

"Need to be somewhere?" he asked nonchalantly.

Zac glanced at him, but didn’t reply. Instead, he made his way up to Isaac and Taylor’s bedroom. It was almost ten o’clock, and Taylor hadn’t emerged from the room all day. They’d constantly checked up on him for fear of… that.

When Zac entered the room he saw him sitting on his bed staring at the floor. Pretty much where he’d left him.

"Tay?"

Taylor looked up.

"It’s almost time," Zac tapped his watch.

Taylor glanced at the nearby alarm clock and nodded slightly.

"Yeah, it is."

He sat back onto the bed and pulled the covers over his legs.

"You guys should probably get some sleep you know."

"We’d rather wait," Zac insisted as Ike appeared behind him.

Taylor shrugged, eyeing the clock for a moment before sliding under the sheets.

"I’ll see you guys tomorrow," he sighed as the familiar chimes of the grandfather clock filled the otherwise silent house.

"You will," Isaac insisted with a nod, before Taylor closed his eyes.

The sixth chime sounded, and Taylor was out.

Zac took a deep breath, before glancing at his watch again then turning to leave the room.

"I’ll see you in a few hours," he murmured, starting down the hallway.

"What? Zac?" Isaac followed him.

"I said I’ll see you in a couple of hours. To answer your earlier question, yes, I do have to be somewhere. Goodbye."

Isaac shrugged.

"Do I get no clue?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Goodbye Ike."

Isaac frowned as he heard the front door close behind him. He scratched his chin, deliberating for a moment, before going back to his room.

He remembered the last week when Zac had disappeared. The week before he’d gone to a party. Come to think of it, the week before someone had wanted his help with something for a few hours…

"What the hell is going on?" he asked himself as he dressed in his night gear.

He glanced at Taylor, laying peacefully so it seemed. He couldn’t see that anything on a grand scale had happened yet.

‘Remember, you find out at 6am,’ he had to tell himself.

He rolled his eyes and ducked under his sheets before reaching over to turn off the light.

When Taylor had opened his eyes, he’d found himself back in the chair. He jumped when he realized the doctor was beside him.

"Didn’t mean to startle you," came his voice.

Taylor turned away and closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing to some kind of regularity as his mind ran over whatever he could possibly think of that might happen that night.

The doctor smiled to himself, before going over to the sink.

"Your eyes have been at the centre of many a dispute, have they not?" he asked rhetorically.

Taylor looked up, confused almost immediately.

"Excuse me?"

"Your eyes, Taylor," the doctor turned back, holding some kind of device in his hand, "how they are a different colour to those of your brothers’. Has that not caused confusion among those who look up to you?"

Taylor shook his head, wondering where exactly this conversation was leading to.


	61. 60

"What are you gonna do?" Taylor stammered nervously, his eyes never leaving the doctor.

The doctor, not replying, made his way over. He stood behind Taylor, making sure he couldn’t move. He then slipped a sort of mask over Taylor’s face, one with unmistakable instruments around the eye area.

Taylor gulped slightly, remembering what Claude’s eyes looked like.

"Please, don’t…" he began, before he was suddenly cut off by the doctor removing his speaking ability.

He coughed for a moment as the doctor tightened the straps of the mask and buckled them shut. He then attached it to the head of the chair, making sure that if Taylor could move, he still couldn’t move his head.

He then slipped around to the front, and buckled straps around Taylor’s wrists. Because Taylor’s head was tilted back, he could only just see out the bottom of his eyes what was happening.

Once that was done, the doctor went over to the sink. He picked up two small vials, one filled will a blue liquid, the other with a black.

Taylor tried to ask what they were, but felt the same choking sensation in his throat that he’d start to become accustomed to.

"I’d like you to pass on a message Taylor…" the doctor began, making him jump.

"To your… younger brother, Zachary."

He clipped a few instruments on the sides of the mask after placing the vials in his pocket. Small metallic blunt blades swung across in front of Taylor’s eyes.

"I’m only telling you now in case you become too hysteric," the doctor added, fussing about a little.

Taylor jumped as four small clips above and below his eyes fastened to his eyelids, holding them open. It was then that he realized he could move – everything but his head.

"Your brother doesn’t know what he is meddling with," the doctor insisted, "I suggest you’d talk to him and bring him to his senses before he goes too far. We can’t have that now, can we?"

A few more small clicks, and Taylor felt something touch the corner of the white of his eyes.

Taylor’s eyes darted back and forth, wondering what the heck he was talking about. But he wasn’t left much time to think, and the small metallic instruments sitting on the whites of his eyes began to move.

He jumped a little and clasped the arms of the chair in his hands as they seemed to scrape across the front of his eye. When it had slowly completed one rotation, he let go of the breath he’d been holding and started panting.

"Just some small preparation. This shouldn’t hurt that much."

Taylor cringed as he tried to think of what this could possibly be for. It wasn’t long before the small instruments began a second journey – this one closer to his iris and pupil.

Once both eyes had been scraped clean of his eyes’ natural chemicals, the doctor pulled out one of the vials.

"This may sting a little," the doctor murmured, squeezing a little of the blue liquid into an eyedropper before leaning over Taylor’s right eye.

He held the eyedropper above Taylor’s iris for a moment, before squeezing some of the solution directly into his eyes. Taylor squirmed instantly, whimpering slightly, as he tried to encourage his tear ducts to ward the added chemical off. But it wasn’t working.

His vision became blurry in that eye, and slightly blue. Eventually it just became too blurry that the only way he could see the doctor was by a huge white blob.

The doctor soon moved around to his left side, slipping the vial back into his pocket and pulling out the other. With a clean eyedropper, he squeezed in some of the solution, before doing the same thing to that eye.

It had the same effect – sending Taylor’s vision blurry, and resulting in a sort of black mist in front of his eyes instead of blue.

It was then that Taylor’s right eye began to burn.

He gulped slightly as the doctor went to return the vials to a stack beside the sink. He began to feel a mix of the chemicals and his tears cascading down the side of his face, before his left eye also started to sting.

The doctor deliberated for a moment, before Taylor could see him approach again. The doctor filled another eyedropper with a clear liquid, before squeezing minimal drops into each eye to keep the eyeball itself healthy.

The mask was not removed for the full eight hours.


	62. 61

Isaac was a little nervous as the clock neared 6am. He couldn’t tell that anything had happened to Taylor, so… that became even more worrying.

He bit his lip as the clock began to chime. At three chimes, Taylor twitched a little, before his eyes shot open and he sat up.

"Ike?!"

"Hey! Hey, I’m here!" Isaac exclaimed, grabbing his hand.

"Why… why isn’t the light on?"

Isaac looked dumbfounded for a moment, before his eyes lowered.

"It’s… it’s on Tay."

Taylor froze, before his hand found his way to his mouth.

It was at that moment that Zac entered the room.

"Guys?"

"He’s blind," Isaac said straight away.

"What?!" Zac almost cursed, making his way over and kneeling beside the bed.

He took one look at Taylor’s eyes – having a front view – before flipping out.

"What the f*ck is that?!" he rushed to say, standing and backing off.

"What?" Isaac looked up at him, worriedly.

"Ike, his eyes. Check them out. Check them out!"

Taylor gulped worriedly, before looking toward where Ike’s voice was coming from.

"What’s wrong?" he asked softly, "please, tell me what’s wrong with them."

Isaac cringed the moment he saw them, but had enough self control not to back away as Zac had done.

"Ah… whoa…"

"Ike what’s wrong?!" Taylor demanded.

"Your… your eyes Tay…"

"I know that all…"

"They’re different Tay," Zac shook his head, still getting over the shock.

"How do you mean?" Taylor looked up.

Zac turned away, slightly grossed out.

"Well ah… one’s completely black," Isaac said softly, "your… left eye is completely black."

"Is the other one blue?" Taylor stammered slightly.

Isaac hesitated, glancing at Zac.

"Is it blue?!" Taylor cried.

"Taylor, no," Zac insisted.

"It’s white," Isaac gulped slightly.

Taylor hesitated, a frown spreading across his face.

"It must have been bleach," he whispered to himself, covering his mouth again.

"What?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"I don’t…" Taylor cut himself off as he shook his head.

"Is this… permanent?" Isaac asked finally.

"I don’t know," Taylor whispered, his eyebrows raised as he shook his head.

Then he remembered something.

"Zac? What are you doing?"

"I’m standing here in shock, that’s what I’m doing."

"I meant at night. Are you doing something you’re not supposed to?"

"Not… that I know of," his eyes darted between Taylor and Isaac, "…why?"


	63. 62

"Are you ready guys?!" Isaac called from the front door.

"ZAC?!" Taylor called, having lost track of him.

"I’m here! I’m here," Zac insisted, coming back into the bedroom and grabbing Taylor’s arm.

Taylor stood up, before adjusting his sunglasses a little.

"What are you doing Zac?" he asked again, his voice low, "I need to know."

"No, you don’t," Zac corrected, having gotten away with not saying anything earlier.

"GUYS?!"

"Coming Ike!" Zac exclaimed, before beginning to lead Taylor from the room.

It was Sunday again, which of course meant church. And Taylor was definitely not looking forward to it.

"Can’t I just stay home?" Taylor practically whined when they made it to the front door.

"You’re not staying home," Isaac said forcefully, opening the door.

Zac pulled him through, and Isaac closed and locked it behind them.

"Slow down," Taylor hissed, "or I’ll fall flat on my face."

"I’ve got you covered," Zac insisted, leading him to the van.

Isaac watched as Taylor found his way into the back seat and Zac closed the door after him. In addition to the long sleeved shirt and scarf, Taylor now had to contend with gloves and the sunglasses.

When they arrived at the church, Isaac explained to Taylor where he’d parked so he knew how far he had to go and in what direction to continue the illusion that he could see perfectly.

They got out of the van and began towards the church in silence. As they drew closer, Isaac and Zac noticed Taylor slowing down. Eventually, Zac grabbed his arm.

"Hurry up Tay."

Taylor bit his lip, but continued walking. They stopped by the door to wait until everyone had entered, and only the pastor was at the door.

"You may enter," the pastor insisted, nodding to the three of them.

Taylor dropped his head as Isaac went in and Zac guided him up the steps. At the top, Taylor pulled Zac back a little.

"I need to see you. I mean, talk to you," he insisted, talking to the pastor.

"Join me after the service," the pastor nodded slowly, eyeing Zac strangely.

Zac squinted a little at him before pulling Taylor through and to their seats.

"What was that about?" Isaac whispered.

"We’re seeing the pastor after the service again," Zac informed him, folding his arms across his chest.

Isaac looked curious, but shrugged and let it slip.

When the service was over, the boys remained seating. Isaac sat with a slight frown on his face, noticing that he couldn’t see the old psychic anywhere. She’d either gotten there and left early, or she hadn’t come at all.

He was soon pulled from those thoughts as they heard the front door being bolted, and he and Zac turned in their seats to see the pastor make his way back over to them.

"So… how may I assist you boys today?" he asked, standing in the aisle beside their pew.

"I need help, Sir," Taylor said softly, keeping his head down.

"Indeed you do," the pastor clasped his hands together, "in which aspect for now?"

"Euthanasia," Taylor replied softly.

"Ah."

"You warned us about this," Zac remembered, thoughtfully.

"I did…" the pastor replied, distractedly.

"What can I do to stop it?" Taylor asked desperately, raising his head slightly.

The pastor sighed a moment, before stepping away and beckoning them to follow.


	64. 63

Isaac scratched his head as he paced outside the corridor door.

"You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up."

"Then I’ll start on the rest of it."

"What are you so worried about?" Zac frowned, sitting on the edge of a pew with a confused expression on his face.

"What am I so worried about? Zac, look at the situation we’re in right…"

"He’s with the pastor Ike. He’s going to be fine."

"Yeah but for how long?" Isaac demanded, before biting into his fist.

Zac shook his head.

"It’s not gonna help Tay if he sees… well, hears you flipping out like this you know."

"I know, I know. It’s just… It’s a little hard for me to deal with this right now. I don’t know how you can take it so well."

"Well it’s not like we can do anything about it yet," Zac shrugged.

He took a deep breath.

"We just have to bide our time. Until then we just have to stay calm. And quite frankly you don’t seem to be doing such a good job of that."

"It’s a bit hard to stay calm when you’re hiding secrets from us, and Taylor could die in less than a fortnight," Isaac glared at him for a moment, his hands moving to his hips as he continued pacing.

"Sorry if my social life concerns you that much," Zac frowned slightly.

"No. If it was just your social life you wouldn’t have a problem telling us where you go every Saturday night."

Zac hesitated, pursing his lips.

"I thought so."

"Don’t give me that when you don’t know sh*t," Zac hit back suddenly.

"Well I wouldn’t be this caught up on something I already knew about, would I?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

The door beside them opened, and they turned to see the pastor leading Taylor out. Taylor’s sunglasses and scarf were off, and his head was down.

"Are you ok Tay?" Isaac asked straight away.

Taylor nodded in reply and held out his hand. The pastor placed his sunglasses in them, and Taylor put them on.

"I’m ok. And I should be ok for a while," he said softly.

"Great," Zac raised his eyebrows, eyeing the pastor.

"So are we leaving? Or…"

"We’re leaving," Taylor insisted, before Isaac could finish.

He slipped the scarf around his neck as Zac stood.

"Alright then, let’s go," Isaac insisted, grabbing the keys from his pocket.

The pastor escorted them to the door, and Isaac led Taylor through. The pastor took Zac’s arm.

"What?" Zac jumped.

"We are not oblivious, Zachary," the pastor said in a low voice, so that Isaac and Taylor couldn’t hear.

"We do watch the byplay. Extensively. What exactly are you getting into?"

Zac gulped slightly, looking back down the street.

"Please stay out of this Zachary," the pastor almost pleaded, letting go of his arm.

"You will most likely do more harm than good with your meddling."

"If I have a chance to help Taylor, I am not backing out of it," Zac insisted, "no matter the cost. Good day Sir."

He jumped down the steps three at a time and caught up to his brothers easily.

The pastor stood watching from the door, a grim expression on his face.


	65. 64

"So what did he do?" Isaac asked as the three of them walked through the front door.

"Just some herbal remedies," Taylor replied softly, pulling the scarf from his neck.

Zac made for the kitchen, starting to make lunch. Isaac took Taylor’s arm instead, and helped him to the bedroom.

"This Zac thing is really starting to unnerve me," Isaac admitted softly when they made it into the room.

"You mean how he told me to tell him to stop whatever he’s doing?" Taylor asked, throwing the scarf down and sitting on his bed.

"Yeah. Did you get… any sort of clue as to what he meant? Any at all?"

Taylor just shook his head.

"He didn’t tell me anything. Either he didn’t want me to know, or… I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t fully know."

It wasn’t long before they heard Zac returning upstairs with their lunch.

"So ah… what do we do for the rest of today?" he asked casually.

"How about a game of truth or dare?" Isaac’s voice was edged with spite.

Zac glared at him.

"Guys, shut it. Zac, whatever you’re doing, it better not get me in any trouble," Taylor insisted, "because I really don’t need any more of it."

"It won’t," Zac insisted, "you’ll be fine Tay."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Taylor asked suddenly.

"It’s not like anybody knows for sure."

Zac rolled his eyes in the ‘here we go again’ way. Isaac shook his head.

"Tay? I am honestly getting sick of hearing this. Wasn’t the pastor supposed to…"

"Well maybe I’m getting sick of thinking it, did you ever think of that?!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Don’t block us out Tay," Zac said suddenly.

Taylor hesitated, a little taken aback.

"How do you mean?" he frowned.

"You know how I mean," Zac insisted.

"You threatening to kill yourself has nothing to do with us. We can’t stop it. And we can’t stop you from hurting. But we are damn well trying. And if you can’t appreciate that, then it’s truly your own problem."

"But this is my problem anyway, that’s the point," Taylor just looked confused.

"Oh this is not only your problem," Isaac shook his head.

"Taylor think about it. If you die, what kind of repercussions is that going to have?"

"What kind of repercussions is it going to have if I live?!" Taylor shrugged.

"I don’t know if I’m going to be able to live with what he’s put me through. The pastor said the blindness was only temporary, but these scars… I mean, I’ll have those for life! How long can I hide them for?!"

"Eventually you won’t have to," Zac shrugged slightly.

"Slowly we can play each one off. We can give them a real reason to be there. It’ll be like pulling a prank on the world. Even if your eyes stayed that way you could use contacts."

Taylor frowned and shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

"This is getting way too much for me to handle," he admitted, leaning his head in his hand, the respective elbow leaning on his knee.

"Hey. Tay…"

Isaac sat beside him on the bed and put an arm around his shoulders.

"It’s ok to feel that way. We couldn’t expect you not to."

"We’re here for you Tay," Zac added sincerely.

"I know," Taylor practically whimpered, before the tears started coming.

Isaac looked up at Zac as he rubbed Taylor’s shoulder. They just didn’t know what to do.


	66. 65

When Taylor awoke on the doctor’s table, his hands flew to his eyes.

He could see again.

Still recoiling from the shock of having his sight back so quickly, he barely noticed the doctor’s footsteps making their way toward him.

However, he did notice when his left arm was wrenched away from his face and a knife was suddenly thrust at his throat.

"Go behind my back again…" the doctor began in a low voice, "and I shall drive your body through a despair worse than death. Are you understanding me?"

Taylor’s eyes widened, but he nodded as best he could.

"Yes Sir," he stammered, sincerely.

"Good."

He removed the knife. Taylor’s hand flew to his throat, to make sure he hadn’t been cut.

"Euthanasia is a feat I am rather proud of, Taylor," the doctor began again, going across to put the knife on the sink.

"It takes quite a man to take his own life when he holds it so dearly. Unfortunately the ones who eventually die at my hand are rather weak in disposition and nature."

"You’re calling me a coward if I don’t take my own life?" Taylor frowned slightly, sitting up.

"Isn’t that rather… childish? For someone of your status?"

He gulped slightly, realizing what he’d just said, and to who.

The doctor turned and stared at him for a moment, before smiling slightly.

"The level your fear rises when you believe you have done something to disgruntle me is truly remarkable," he said almost proudly.

He lifted a finger, and Taylor kept his eyes on it.

"You are learning. I like that."

Taylor gulped again slightly, before turning his head away.

The doctor retrieved something that looked like a large funnel from the cupboard, before setting it on the sink and moving to Taylor’s side.

Taking Taylor’s arm, Taylor couldn’t resist as he was pulled over to the chair and sat down into it again. His wrists were strapped to the arms like last time, before he became able to move of his own free will once more.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked nervously, looking up at the doctor as he walked around him to the cupboard again.

"I see you managed quite well today without your sight available to you," the doctor raised his eyebrows.

"So?" Taylor frowned, wondering what he was getting at.

"So it has led me to wonder how you would do without other such senses… being so dependant on them and all."

Taylor’s eyes widened.

"What are you going to take away?" he asked nervously, pulling slightly against the straps on his wrists as he sat up straight.

The doctor yet again ignored him, rather pulling other small objects from the cupboard and setting them on the table behind him. When he seemed ready, he took the mask he’d used the night before and made to put it over Taylor’s face again.

He then went to collect the funnel, and attached it to the right side of the mask near Taylor’s ear.

Taylor fingers shook nervously, as the doctor made it obvious just which sense he would be losing.

Making Taylor tilt his head to the side, he pulled a small vial of clear liquid from his coat pocket and pulled out the cork.

He waved his hand in front of Taylor’s throat to make sure he couldn’t cry out, before beginning to pour it into the funnel.

As soon as the liquid hit the inside of Taylor’s ear, he almost choked. The chemical burnt like acid, and it was all Taylor could do to stop himself passing out.

The doctor soon disconnected the funnel and turned it around to pour the remaining solution in Taylor’s ear back into the vial, before leaving what he’d done to set.


	67. 66

Taylor bolted up in bed, which left Isaac practically sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh no…" Taylor shook his head, oblivious to the world around him.

"Tay?" Zac looked confused as Isaac picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Tay?" Isaac raised his eyebrows, grabbing his hand.

Taylor turned to him.

"What happened?" Isaac asked.

Taylor hesitated, glancing up at Zac.

"I… I can see," he raised his eyebrows, looking down.

"Your eyes still look weird though," Zac interrupted.

"…But I can’t hear," Taylor went on, oblivious.

He looked up at Isaac.

Isaac held his breath for a moment, then let it out.

"Ok, this is going to be interesting…"

"We’re meant to be at the hospital in… three hours," Zac checked, glancing at his watch.

"Yeah, I know," Isaac agreed, seeing Taylor was having trouble reading their lips.

"Tay? Hospital. Three hours," he tapped his temple.

Taylor’s eyes widened, before he threw the sheets off and stood up.

"I can’t go in like this," he shook his head, "they’ll… they’ll think I’m crazy. Not that they don’t already."

"We’ll work something out," Isaac said slowly, making sure he understood.

Then he turned to Zac.

"Can you call them or something?"

Zac nodded, "yeah I can try and reschedule. Back soon."

He left the room.

Isaac sighed, then turned back to Taylor.

"Reschedule," he mouthed, indicating that Zac was going to call them with his hand.

Taylor nodded, showing he understood, before running his fingers through his hair and biting his lip as he sat down again.

Isaac knelt in front of him to make sure he was looking at him.

"Lay low for today," he insisted slowly.

"I will," Taylor insisted sincerely, "it’s not like I could get very far without being hit by a bus or something anyway."

Isaac held back a chuckle, before standing up again.

"Guys?" Zac got their attention from the doorway, holding his hand over the mouthpiece of the cordless phone.

"When do we want to reschedule for?"

Isaac raised his eyebrows and turned back to Taylor.

"When?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Ah… end of the week?" Taylor shrugged, looking up at Zac.

"Can we make it Friday or Monday?" Zac said into the phone, turning and walking back to the kitchen.

Taylor sighed, before Isaac got his attention again.

"Breakfast?" he offered.

"I’ll have a shower first," Taylor replied, getting up to grab some stuff.

"Ok," Isaac said to himself, watching him.

He felt like he was supervising a troublesome child in a child care centre, the way he was practically forced to keep his eye on him.

Taylor left the room, and Isaac made his way downstairs to make breakfast.


	68. 67

Taylor had basically been hiding in his room the whole day. Eventually he figured it was for the best, considering he couldn’t really do anything to get into more trouble when he was doing nothing. Well, besides working on a few songs, but it wasn’t as if that would annoy the doctor.

And that game of Monopoly Zac had convinced him to have with him had quelled the boredom a little…

A little before 10pm, Isaac came into the room with a glass of water.

"Thirsty?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Not really," Taylor shook his head, getting under the covers in his bed.

He shivered as someone walked over his grave.

Isaac sighed and sat the glass down on the bedside table, before getting himself ready for bed.

"Goodnight Ike," Taylor said softly, without looking at him.

He already knew his brother would say it back.

He settled down, hoping his hearing would come back as easily as his sight seemed to. Isaac didn’t turn the light out until the clock stopped chiming.

"Behaving ourselves, were we?" came the doctor’s voice.

Taylor’s eyes shot open, finding himself strapped in the chair again. Basically where he’d awoken from.

"Tonight, we get to have some fun," the doctor smiled, removing the mallet he’d used to beat Taylor with from the cupboard.

"Fun?" Taylor gulped slightly.

Why did that word automatically send a shiver down his spine?

"Well perhaps not for you."

Taylor bit his lip. He knew there was a catch.

The doctor made his way over and began to unstrap Taylor’s left wrist. Once he’d done so, he grabbed the pinky finger on that hand, and a loud ‘snap’ filled the otherwise silence.

It took Taylor a moment to react.

"YEOW!" he yelled, shaking that hand out and immediately putting that finger in his mouth and sucking on it.

The doctor chuckled a little, before unstrapping Taylor’s right hand, and doing the same to the ring finger on that hand.

"AH! JESUS!" Taylor cursed, now holding both hands to his stomach and cringing.

"Oops?" the doctor raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

Taylor looked up at him, before leaning over to squash his hands between his stomach and lap to try and dull the pain.

The doctor took this opportunity to grab him by the back of the neck and pull him into a standing position. He then let him lean against the table, cupping his broken fingers in his arms.

"Let’s see how many we can do at once, shall we?" the doctor began, raising the mallet before bringing it down on Taylor’s left kneecap.

Taylor cried out and fell onto his right knee, not able to tell if his left was just dislocated or actually broken. He fell back into a sitting position, unsure of what to do in his current situation.

The doctor looked down on him tilting his head slightly.

"You’ve had your arm broken before, haven’t you?" he asked after some time.

"So?" Taylor cringed, looking up at him.

The doctor knelt down.

"Would I be right in saying that’s the only bone you’ve had broken before tonight?"

"Yeah…" Taylor breathed, before crying out as the doctor cracked one of his toes.

The doctor chuckled slightly as Taylor tried to edge away.

"Let’s see how far we can go then," he winked.


	69. 68

Isaac knew enough to sit back this time, when he knew Taylor was going to wake up.

He couldn’t tell that anything had happened, but he’d noticed Taylor’s body twitching slightly every now and then.

"Anything happening?" came Zac’s voice with a yawn as he stopped in the doorway.

"I’m not sure," Isaac squinted slightly, his eyes never leaving Taylor.

The clock began to chime.

As Taylor’s eyes shot open, he immediately cried out.

"Tay?!" Isaac exclaimed, trying to get his attention as he leant over him.

"Ike, it hurts… it hurts… Oh God it hurts…" Taylor cried.

"What hurts?" Zac asked seriously, having bolted to the bedside.

Taylor hissed slightly, trying to lift his left arm.

"My arm, Ike?" he almost cried, his voice croaking.

Isaac pulled the sheets back and cringed when he saw the broken elbow.

"He broke your elbow?" Zac frowned, looking more annoyed than concerned.

"No," Taylor shook his head, "my… AH!"

"Sorry," Isaac apologized for touching it.

"Holy…" Zac cut himself off as he saw the rest of his arm.

It was bruised down to the wrist, his hand was stark red, and at least three of his fingers had been broken as well.

"I’ll… I’ll get some painkillers," Zac offered, before quickly leaving the room.

Taylor tried to keep his breathing normal and Isaac continued looking him over to see what else had been done.

Zac soon returned with some tablets and a glass of water.

"These aren’t going to be strong enough," Isaac insisted as Zac handed them to him.

"Well what else do you propose? We can’t move him!" Zac pointed out.

"Oh God," Taylor cried, closing his eyes with a cringe.

"Ok, ok. Tay? Try and get these down your neck, alright?" Isaac said, positioning himself so he could give them to him easier.

Taylor nodded as best he could, before Isaac awkwardly gave him the tablets and some water.

"Ok. It should be working in a few minutes. I don’t know how much effect it’s going to have, but…"

"That’s fine," Taylor insisted, gulping slightly.

"Do you think you’ll be able to eat anything?" Zac asked.

"That is the last thing on my mind right now."

Isaac shook his head.

"We’ll wait to see what the pain killers do. See what you feel like then. Ok Tay?"

Taylor nodded again, biting into his bottom lip.

"You’re gonna need a bedpan or something," Zac said suddenly.

Isaac tried to hold back a cringe at the thought, before trying to think of what they could use.

"I’ll find something," Zac suggested, before leaving the room again.

"I’d suggest getting you to the hospital or at least calling an ambulance," Isaac began softly, "but we don’t know if this’ll be gone tomorrow."

"I just want it to be gone now," Taylor breathed.

Isaac put a hand on his shoulder and sat on the floor beside the bed, just feeling like he needed to be there for him.

"I might need to go and see the psychic again," he said after a while.

"No Ike, don’t," Taylor insisted.

"She won’t tell you any more than she has. It’ll be completely… completely pointless."


	70. 69

"I guess it’s just as well we didn’t reschedule that psych exam for today," Zac said softly as he drank a glass of water.

Isaac had just walked into the kitchen.

"You could say that."

"And I do."

Isaac remained silent as he got himself a drink. Zac couldn’t help but notice that he was purposely trying to ignore him.

Not doing a good job of it, but trying.

Finally, Zac left the room and made his way into the living room. Every now and then, they could hear Taylor’s cries of pain from the bedroom, but they both knew that they’d already done what they could.

Taking a deep breath, Isaac made his way into the living room. Zac sat sullenly, staring at the blank TV screen and rubbing his thumb over his glass absently.

"You’re not in any kind of danger, are you?" Isaac asked suddenly, standing in the doorway.

Zac’s eyes fell, before returning to the TV.

"Why would you think that?" he countered.

Isaac shrugged.

"I don’t know what to think anymore."

Zac sniffed and shifted slightly.

"We have twelve or thirteen days to go," he said suddenly, "how late are we supposed to wait?"

"I don’t know."

"Well there’re a lot of things that we don’t know that we should."

Zac stood and walked past his brother into the kitchen, not giving him so much as a glance.

He dropped his glass into the sink and leant against it for a moment.

"Do we have to wait… until the deadline? Or do we get a few days warning? Or are we just hanging onto false hopes that people have given us and we’re actually not waiting for anything?" he asked suddenly.

Isaac remained silent, watching him.

Zac shook his head and looked out the window in front of him.

"If we are really dealing with a higher power, of sorts, then what hopes are we supposed to have? Maybe everyone around us telling us to wait is actually in on it and just wants Tay to die the way the doctor wants him to."

"I can’t answer any of those things, Zac," Isaac said quietly.

Zac hung his head as another cry from Taylor came from the hallway.

"Yeah, I know."

He sighed, and then headed back towards his brothers’ room. Isaac headed toward the sink to put his own glass down, hesitating when he noticed a chip in Zac’s from him having dropped it.

Zac entered the room with a wary expression on his face, before sliding down so he was sitting beside Taylor’s bed.

"Tay?"

Taylor barely heard his voice, both through his focus on the overwhelming pain, and through the huge headache he now had.

"Tay?" Zac tried again, reaching up slowly to rub his thumb along the top half of Taylor’s arm.

Taylor managed to open his eyes – tears streaming down his face.

"Hey Zac," he managed a short smile before closing his eyes again.

"Not long now, ok?" Zac promised softly.

Taylor nodded softly, and Zac bit his lip.

Zac sighed.

"And I’m gonna help you even if I have to die myself."


	71. 70

When Taylor awoke on the doctor’s table, he instantly shot into a sitting position.

"Easy, easy," the doctor calmed, pushing Taylor back down onto his back.

Taylor gulped slightly when he realized he was paralyzed again.

"You had quite an exciting day, I believe…"

"Exciting?" Taylor frowned, even before he realized he could talk.

"Yes, didn’t you think so?"

"Not the word I’d use," he said softly, eyes darting nervously.

The doctor chuckled slightly, before moving to the cupboard and pulling out various instruments – including the mask again.

"What are you doing?" Taylor stammered.

"Now, that would be telling, wouldn’t it?"

Taylor cringed and closed his eyes.

The doctor chuckled before bringing the mask over to the table and beginning to strap it to Taylor’s head again. Taylor held his breath for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut. Not the eyes again, not the eyes again… please…

Once the doctor finished attaching the mask, he reached for another small contraption sitting on the bench. This he attached to the bottom of the mask – over Taylor’s mouth. Sliding two small panels of metal into Taylor’s mouth, Taylor heard two quick clicks as his jaw was forced open.

He gulped slightly, trying desperately to move just even his fingers slightly.

The doctor retreated to the sink again, placing surgical gloves over his hands once more and retrieving some tools which looked oddly like those of a dentists’.

Taylor’s eyes widened for a moment, before he forced himself to look away.

"Many people love your voice, don’t they?" the doctor mused suddenly.

Taylor’s eyebrows furrowed, sure he knew something about what was happening just by that.

He jumped as one of the instruments began to whir.

"Just out of habit, I’d ask you to stay still," the doctor murmured, "you never know what may happen if something goes wrong."

Taylor tried to cry out, but failed for more reasons than one.

Then he felt the drill enter his mouth and head for his bottom teeth at the back.

Trying to hold his breath and not really succeeding at it, Taylor kept his eyes closed the entire time. He eventually felt the taste of warm blood sliding down the back of his throat, but his only available reaction was to cough.

The doctor took his time in painstakingly removing four of Taylor’s teeth, one from each corner of his mouth. He then dried out Taylor’s mouth before carefully dabbing the bleeding areas with lemon juice. This was mainly done to stop infection, but that fact that it obviously caused Taylor pain was an added bonus.

Once that was done, he reached over for a nearby canister with a funnel and tube attached.

"I’m sorry I can’t offer you some last free moments, but I simply know what they will involve," the doctor said softly.

Taylor could barely look up at him through the tears welled in his eyes before closing them again and letting them slide down his cheeks in silent agony.

The doctor adjusted a few short implements on the mask around Taylor’s mouth before sliding the tube down Taylor’s throat.

Taylor gagged for a moment, but was soon able to breath around it.

Setting the container down onto the table and holding the funnel attached to the tube above Taylor’s face, he purposely slowed his movements in removing the cap from the container and pouring a little of the liquid into the funnel.

As soon as the chemical hit Taylor’s throat he attempted to cry out. He felt an immense burning sensation in a certain part of his throat that he had barely known existed.

Though it felt like a lot more to Taylor, the doctor only inserted a minimal amount of the mystery chemical. Upon carefully removing the tube from Taylor's throat, he tilted Taylor’s head to the side letting the leftover substance drip out onto the table.

Deliberating for a moment, he went to find something to clear it up.

"Have fun tomorrow, won’t you?" he smiled chillingly.


	72. 71

Isaac had slowly noticed as the state of Taylor’s hands became apparent, and was ready for when his brother woke up. He knew he still couldn’t do anything until 6am, but when that time came… he’d be ready for it.

The moment Taylor’s eyes shot open, Isaac grabbed his left hand and began wrapping a bandage around three of Taylor’s fingers strapping it firmly. Taylor had already tried to yell out, but that didn’t deter him.

It was a moment before Taylor realized what Isaac was doing, and gulped. Then he winced at the pain in his neck and mouth.

"You’re rather quiet," Zac acknowledged from the doorway, before coming to help Isaac with Taylor’s other hand.

"So what happened?" Isaac demanded, looking up at his brother for the first time.

Taylor was about to say something about his teeth, before he suddenly felt like he was going to choke.

He started coughing as Isaac patted him on the back, before taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm his body down.

"What happened?" Zac tried again.

Looking more than slightly unnerved by the situation, Taylor attempted to indicate his throat.

"Something about… your neck? Your… throat?" Isaac frowned.

"He hasn’t talked to us yet Ike, and it’s not like him to not make a sound in the mornings. His voice is gone," Zac said decidedly.

Taylor hesitated, before opening his mouth in Isaac’s direction.

"Dammit Tay! That’s nasty!" Isaac exclaimed, backing off a little and looking disgusted.

"What is?" Zac looked between them, "Can I see?"

"Oh God, hang on," Isaac insisted, grabbing a nearby glass.

"Tay, spit into it. You’re bleeding."

Taylor looked a little worried for a moment as his tongue explored the back area of his mouth, before doing as his brother asked. He cringed at the sight of the blood swirling in the water that had already been in there.

"So, your voice, your hands, and what else?" Zac raised his eyebrows, getting sick of repeating himself.

"There’s a few teeth missing," Isaac indicated for Taylor to show Zac.

Taylor hesitated, looking Zac up and down for a moment.

"Tay, I can handle it. Trust me," Zac insisted, a little miffed.

Taylor rolled his eyes a little, then opened his mouth to show him.

"Dude, that is nasty. Think we should get that checked out? It’s still bleeding like hell."

"No. Tay? Spit."

Taylor would have grunted had his mouth not been occupied with blood. He spat into the glass again.

"Ok, you need a cold drink or something to stop the blood flow. Then we’re going to need to work on keeping those broken fingers contained. Why the heck did he break them anyway?" Isaac asked himself curiously.

Taylor hesitated thoughtfully, then tried to indicate writing.

"Ok, this’ll be fun. Charades. Let’s see… you’re waving? You’re…"

"Writing?" Isaac supplied.

Taylor nodded, then indicated his throat and shook his head.

Zac snapped his fingers.

"He tried to make it so you couldn’t communicate. Well that’s just mean."

"At least we know we can sort of work around it," Isaac shrugged, grabbing the glass, "Tay? Spit."

Taylor looked disgruntled for a moment, before spitting into the glass again.

"I’m gonna grab some ice and clean this glass out. Back in a moment."

Taylor clutched his broken fingers to his chest, before noticing Zac looking him over.


	73. 72

Not too long later, Isaac walked into the living room to join his brothers who were just settling down for a movie. Zac was sitting on the floor, and Taylor was laying across the couch with an icepack wrapped in a towel shoved in his mouth.

"You’re gonna choke yourself if you’re not careful," Isaac raised his eyebrows, before grabbing a chair and bringing it over to the couch so he could inspect the bandages on his brother’s hands.

Taylor rolled his eyes and held his left hand out. Isaac undid the strapping, trying to be careful, and replaced it smoothly.

"Going to watch the movie with us Ike?" Zac didn’t even look up.

"I might as well."

"Well don’t let us force you or anything."

Taylor winced as Isaac tied the strapping off, before shifting slightly and holding out his right hand.

"Are you hungry yet Tay?" Isaac asked, ignoring Zac.

Taylor shook his head, before using his left hand to show that he was thirsty instead.

"Water?"

Taylor nodded.

"Ok…" Taylor jumped as Isaac finished strapping the fingers on his right hand, "back in a moment."

He got up and left the room.

Taylor kept his eye on Zac for the time being.

"Don’t do that."

Taylor ignored him.

Zac glanced at him for a moment, then returned his attention to the TV.

"I said don’t."

Taylor hesitated, looking down, before looking up at him again.

"Just don’t do that!" Zac exclaimed finally, "at least not when I can’t ask you what the hell your problem is."

Taylor shrugged, turning his eyes to the TV as Zac ground his teeth lightly.

This was really starting to bug him. Not only having Isaac on his back about where he went on Saturdays, but Taylor treating him as if he probably had something to do with what was happening to him.

Isaac soon returned with the glass of water for Taylor, and he pulled the icepack from his mouth and set it aside.

He blanched slightly when he realized how cold the water was.

"Sorry Tay. But you know it’ll help."

Taylor just nodded, and managed to slowly sip at it. Isaac pulled the chair away again into a corner and settled into it to watch the TV.

"So what happened?"

"Nothing much yet, this guy here just went into the office or something and this chick showed up…"

"I meant what just happened here," Isaac interrupted, "you yelled at him."

Taylor’s eyes darted between them, trying to look innocent.

"Nothing happened," Zac shrugged, "he just annoyed me, that’s all."

"How?" Isaac frowned.

"He kept poking me."

Taylor glared at Zac’s back, knowing that he knew full well Taylor couldn’t retaliate or even tell Isaac the truth.

Isaac sighed and leant back in his chair.

"Let’s just hope there’s no other major dramas today, ok?" he said finally.

"And depending on what happens tomorrow night, we’ll get the psych exam over and done with on Friday, then get back to working on what we have to work on."

Taylor gulped slightly, but didn’t let his nervousness show.


	74. 73

Taylor sat on the edge of his bed just staring at the floor as it came close to 10pm.

"Tay?" came Isaac’s voice from the doorway.

Taylor didn’t move.

"I know you’re not deaf."

Taylor hesitated with a gulp, then dipped his head.

"It’s almost time Tay."

Taylor rolled his eyes. Duh. Why did he think he was up there and ready?

Isaac sighed, then turned the light off and shut the door behind him as he came into the room.

"We’ll be ok Tay. Friday will be a cinch. Nothing to worry about."

‘Easy for you to say,’ Taylor mouthed with a frown, before slipping under his bed sheets.

Isaac watched him for a moment, but Taylor had rolled over so he couldn’t see his face.

"Goodnight Tay."

He turned the lamp off, as a single tear slipped from Taylor’s left eye and hit the pillow. He wiped the trail from his face before closing his eyes. The clock began to chime.

"Did you have fun Taylor?" came the doctor’s voice well before Taylor opened his eyes, "I certainly did."

Taylor frowned at that, before letting his eyes slide open.

He was on the table again, he knew that much. The doctor soon appeared over him, looking down into his face.

"How about another day of it, hmm?" he seemed to suggest.

Taylor couldn’t shake his head, but his eyes were welling up.

"I didn’t think there’d be any complaints."

The doctor headed back to the cupboard, and Taylor heard the sound of something hard, metal and heavy being dragged towards the table. It settled adjacent to his hips, but Taylor couldn’t see low enough to tell what it was.

He gulped again.

"A pity I wouldn’t be able to hear a reaction to this, however."

The doctor leant over slightly to roll up the white singlet Taylor wore, exposing his chest and scarred abdomen.

He soon leant back down to… whatever he had down there, and Taylor heard a small clank. Then something bubbling.

He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself. It sounded like some kind of boiling water or acid.

The doctor raised the ladle to above the table, then carefully swung it across and tipped the liquid from it.

Taylor’s eyes shot open as he began to choke.

The doctor smiled slightly, before placing the metal ladle back into the container beside him. He watched the skin on Taylor’s chest turn white, and in turn his struggle to breathe.

"Quite remarkable, isn’t it?" he mused softly.

Taylor could barely hear him, as he finally started panting desperately.

"This particular form of liquid nitrogen is often used in doctor’s surgeries for removal of warts and such."

Taylor made a few short gasping sounds, before seeming to calm slightly. The doctor checked to make sure he hadn’t passed out. He hadn’t.

Nodding to himself, he stood up straight again and walked over to the adjacent wall – behind Taylor’s head. Set into it was a dial, and the doctor pressed a few buttons as he calculated in his head.

Taylor heard the beeps, but paid them no mind for now.

When the doctor finished what he was doing, he retired to the chair to watch.

Taylor was curious when he realized that the doctor wasn’t doing anything else, though he was already occupied with the mass burning taking place at the base of his ribcage. But it didn’t take that long for him to realize that the room was becoming very cold…


	75. 74

Isaac knelt beside Taylor’s bed staring at him intently.

He knew there was something obviously wrong, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

"’Morning Ike," came Zac’s voice as he slipped in the door.

"’Morning Zac."

"So what’s… woah."

Isaac looked up curiously.

"Ike, don’t tell me you can’t see that!"

"What?!" Isaac exclaimed exasperated.

Zac practically stormed over and grabbed Taylor’s wrist. He had to let go as soon as he touched it with a yelp.

"What? What happened?" Isaac just looked confused.

"You touch him!"

Isaac eyed Taylor for a moment, before leaning down and letting his palm hover over Taylor’s arm.

"Woah, I can feel that," his eyebrows rose, without him having touched his brother’s body.

"Dude," Zac frowned, breathing on his hand, "he’d better still be alive."

"He’s breathing," Isaac took note.

Zac looked for himself.

"Ok, true…"

Isaac knelt down again, before eyeing the alarm clock. The grandfather clock began to chime a moment later.

"I’ll grab some rugs or something. He’s gonna be feeling that for sure," Zac insisted, before leaving the room.

"You might wanna grab a heater too," Isaac called after him, before Taylor’s eyelids fluttered open.

He managed to look over at Isaac, but apart from that he couldn’t move. He’d barely registered that he was awake before the shivers started.

"It’s ok Tay, really," Isaac insisted, pulling Taylor’s sheets over him firmly and holding them there as Taylor gasped for air.

"Zac’s gonna get some rugs and a heater and stuff, ok? Then once you’ve settled you can tell us what the hell happened. Alright?"

Taylor simply nodded, before closing his eyes again.

By the time Zac returned – his arms full of rugs – Taylor’s shivers had turned into full on shakes.

"Damn that looks bad," Zac frowned, dropping the rugs.

"Well don’t just look at him," Isaac scorned, grabbing a couple of the rugs and beginning to pile them on top of Taylor.

Zac noticed his brother having trouble breathing, and thought for a moment.

"We need to get him into the shower or a bath of warm water or something," he said finally, "for now I’ll get him a hot water bottle and put some soup on. Ok?"

"Yeah, do that."

Zac glanced at Isaac for a moment, before leaving the room. Isaac finally finished layering what he could on top of Taylor, careful not to squash him, and knelt beside the bed again.

"Tay? Tay, can you hear me?" he asked worriedly.

Taylor glanced at him, and Isaac noticed that his lips had turned a shade of purple.

"We’ll get you warmed up in no time, ok? Now we’ll have to move you to the bathroom soon if none of this works. Are you up for it?"

Taylor tried to reply, but couldn’t. So he just nodded his head.

"Good. Zac’s gone to make you soup and to get a hot water bottle. You’ll be fine."

Taylor just closed his eyes again, his shakes only becoming more violent.


	76. 75

Once Taylor had been in the bath for at least twenty minutes, Isaac shook his head in confusion.

"This can’t be happening. There is no possible explanation…"

"Maybe this is how he wants to kill him, did you ever think of that?" Zac scorned from behind him.

Isaac had hold of Taylor’s hand – but under the warm water. If he even touched Taylor’s skin above the surface he’d most likely be burnt.

"It’s too early," Isaac murmured, as Taylor closed his eyes.

"And what are you going by?" Zac folded his arms.

"The psychic. She said it goes by the moon cycle."

"How do you know she isn’t fake?" Zac frowned, "by all means she could be."

"She knew my name without my telling her."

"Oh and the fact that your face used to be plastered all over the tabloids a few years ago had nothing to do with that?"

"She warned me when Taylor needed to be seen to at the hospital."

Zac hesitated, then bit his lip. Ok, so he had him there.

Isaac glanced up at him, then returned his attention to Taylor.

"Nothing’s changed. We just have to take this as it comes," he said finally.

"Well this obviously isn’t working. He’s even turned the water cold. He’s going to be covered in icicles soon."

"Then we need to get him out. Help me lift him."

Zac quickly grabbed a couple of towels to wrap around his hands so that he could safely touch Taylor, then helped Isaac lift their brother from the bathtub.

Once they had him out, Isaac hissed slightly at his hands being burnt, before doing the same as Zac had done and grabbing some small towels for his hands. They then quickly covered Taylor in rugs again before having to carry him back to the bedroom.

"Want to try the soup again?" Isaac asked Zac as they set Taylor onto the bed and covered him in the bed sheets again.

"He’s not going to have any," Zac shook his head.

"Tay?"

Taylor only just managed to open his eyes, as a sign that he’d heard Zac’s voice.

"Tay, if you feel like trying the soup again, give us a sign, ok?"

Taylor gulped and closed his eyes again, feeling too sick to move. Not that he could if he wanted to. His shakes had calmed somewhat, but were still persistent.

Isaac sighed as Zac threw the towels from his hands down beside the bed, then made to leave the room. He kept his eye on Taylor’s face, in case maybe his expression would change and show some emotion other than complete discomfort.

He couldn’t imagine what he was going through this time.

Zac had made his way down to the kitchen. He took the cold bowl of soup from the counter and emptied it down the sink, before beginning to wash up.

He noted to himself that they’d left the bathtub full of water, and he’d have to go and empty it when he was done.

Clenching his teeth and trying to distract himself, he went on with the task at hand. He glanced warily at the phone for a moment, but quickly shook off the thought.

"Tay? Tay, hold on," Isaac murmured as Taylor’s shaking increased dramatically in the space of only a few seconds.

"There’s only a couple of hours to go, ok man?"

"I… can’t…" Taylor gasped out.

"Tay? Taylor?"

Taylor coughed for a moment, before his eyes slid shut and his head fell to the side.

"Taylor?" Isaac frowned, starting to shake his head.

He leant over, cursing when he touched Taylor’s neck and his hand was burnt again. He quickly grabbed a towel and set it over his brother’s neck as he attempted to check his pulse.


	77. 76

Taylor shot into a sitting position as soon as he found himself back on the doctor’s table.

"Steady, steady…" the doctor insisted in a soothing voice.

"Please, don’t ever do that again," Taylor whispered, before his eyes widened at the realization that he could talk and his hands flew to his throat.

"Everything only happens once, my dear boy. You need not worry about that again."

Taylor gulped slightly, before swinging his legs around and pulling his knees in to his chest.

The doctor sighed, before turning slightly and leaning back against the sink.

"I hope that by now, you’ve come to understand exactly what I can do. Yes?"

Taylor hesitated, before his eyes fell.

"Whatever you want."

"Indeed," the doctor smiled slightly, "so I would like to give you a few options to contend with…"

Taylor closed his eyes and hugged his legs, not sure of what to expect. He jumped when he heard the sound of the cupboard opening.

"I’d like to give you the option of not having to be restrained," the doctor said finally, making Taylor look up.

"After all… you already know I can do with you what I wish. You don’t need to make my job any harder than it is, do you?"

Taylor bit his bottom lip, his mind racing. He finally shook his head.

"Good," the doctor smiled.

"For a start, I’d like you seated in the chair. Would you oblige?"

Taylor hesitated, looking over at it.

"Or do you prefer being paralyzed?" the doctor taunted.

Taylor took a deep breath, before carefully sliding from the table. He kept his eye on the doctor, before sidling over to the chair, and shakily taking a seat.

"That wasn’t so hard now, was it?" the doctor almost cooed.

Taylor hugged his waist and didn’t reply.

Realizing he wouldn’t get an answer, the doctor turned and retrieved a bottle from the cupboard. He then reached into a drawer by the sink and pulled out a dessert spoon.

"What are you doing?" Taylor stammered slightly.

"You know I don’t like it when you ask those kinds of questions, Taylor. Just let me do my job."

Taylor bit his lip again, and turned his head away. He couldn’t believe he was about to go through whatever the doctor had coming for him willingly.

The doctor unscrewed the cap of the bottle, then brought it and the spoon over to Taylor.

"Will you have your mouth open and ready, please?"

"What is it?" Taylor demanded with a frown.

The doctor sighed.

"For someone so young you really don’t have much of a sense of adventure, do you?"

He set the bottle and spoon down on the table, then made his way back over to Taylor and took hold of his right wrist. Then he began to strap it to the arm of the chair.

"I thought you said…"

"Maybe tomorrow night," the doctor cut him off.

Taylor cringed and closed his eyes, as his left wrist suffered the same treatment. The doctor then returned to the table and fetched the bottle and spoon, before pouring some greenish liquid into the spoon and bringing it over to Taylor.

Using his left hand, he squeezed Taylor’s jaw until he had to open it, then thrust the spoon into his mouth so the chemical hit the back of his tongue. He then threw the spoon to the floor as his left fingers held Taylor’s nostrils closed and his right hand held his jaw shut.

Taylor struggled for a moment, soon realizing he was going to suffocate if he didn’t give in. He swallowed whatever was in his mouth, before the doctor let go.

Coughing and spluttering, the doctor opened his mouth to make sure it was all gone.


	78. 77

"Anything happening?" Zac yawned as he settled into the doorway.

"No. But he’s warmed up a lot."

"Is he too warm? Or…"

"Normal I’d say. It’s hard to tell."

Zac hesitated, before making his way over to Taylor and placing his hand just above his forehead. He knew if he touched him while he was under he’d get that small electric shock again.

"From what I can tell it’s normal," he sighed, before stepping back.

Isaac glanced at the alarm clock, before shifting slightly.

"Ok, here we go."

The grandfather clock began to chime again, and the brothers waited impatiently for Taylor to join them.

"Woah! Hey!"

Isaac jumped back as Taylor immediately rolled onto his side and began to throw up – quite violently – onto the floor.

"Oh, dude," Zac cringed, looking disgusted, "I’ll get some towels and a bucket."

Isaac meanwhile was holding Taylor’s shoulders up, debating with himself what to do when Taylor stopped. When he finally did, Isaac rubbed him on the back, then made him sit up.

"Zac will be here with some towels soon, ok?" he said softly.

Taylor didn’t reply, just put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes as he managed to concentrate on breathing again.

Zac soon did return with the bowl and towels, and threw one to Isaac who gave it to Taylor so he could clean himself off.

"Let’s get you to the bathroom," Isaac suggested softly, before having to help Taylor try and stand.

Just as Taylor made it onto his feet, his knees collapsed from underneath him. He desperately grabbed for the bucket, before beginning to throw up into it.

Zac bit his lip as he spread some towels over the mess on the floor, trying not to smell it.

"This is bad…" Isaac shook his head with a frown, "this can’t be healthy."

"Since when is any of this ‘healthy’?" Zac spoke up.

Isaac knelt beside Taylor and started rubbing his back again, as Zac just watched on worriedly. When Taylor was done, Isaac grabbed his left arm and slung it over his shoulder before helping him to the bathroom.

Zac watched wearily after them, before beginning to clean up the room. It wasn’t long before he could hear Taylor at it again.

"Jesus, what the heck happened?" he murmured to himself.

Isaac was unsuccessfully trying to get some answers out of Taylor. It seemed that whenever Taylor had a chance to catch his breath, he couldn’t even get a word out before he’d start up again.

After a painful ten minutes, Isaac saw the tears in Taylor’s eyes as he collapsed down onto one elbow and moaned as he caught his breath again.

"Tay? Are you done for now?" Isaac asked softly, grabbing his hand.

Taylor managed a nod, before closing his eyes and concentrating again on his breathing.

"Can you tell me what happened yet?"

There was no reply, so Isaac took that as a ‘no’. He heard water running in the kitchen and guessed it was Zac cleaning up still.

He stayed in the bathroom with Taylor for about half an hour, during which time he threw up at least twice more. Once it seemed to have calmed slightly, Isaac managed to grab a nearby bucket and take his brother down into the living room and sit him on the sofa.

"So… any idea what happened yet?" Zac asked, his eyes on Isaac.

"Not really," Isaac frowned, watching Taylor as he settled down and almost seemed to fall asleep where he lay.

"He’s just really, really sick."


	79. 78

"When did you schedule that psych exam for Zac?" Isaac asked sometime late that afternoon.

"If it was today, I would have reminded you. It’s for Monday."

Zac cringed as they heard Taylor throwing up again. Well, so to speak. As there was almost nothing left to bring up he was mostly gagging on bile.

"Lets hope nothing stops us on Monday," Isaac sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Well if it does, we can always reschedule again," Zac raised his eyebrows as he sat back on the couch.

"But think about it Zac, this is a psychiatric examination. Not particularly for well being or anything. How soon are they going to realize that something’s up?"

"If we rescheduled for after the full moon then hopefully nothing."

Isaac glanced up at him, before standing up.

"Maybe we should have done that the first time."

He made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water before heading to the bedroom to see if Taylor could handle it.

"The things you think of when it’s too late," Zac murmured, before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on.

Isaac slowly opened the door to his and Taylor’s room, soon spotting Taylor sprawled out on his back on the floor with his eyes closed.

Slipping in quietly, he soon realized he wasn’t quiet enough to stop Taylor hearing him. His brother looked up at him from the floor before closing his eyes again tiredly.

"Hey."

"Hi," Isaac said quietly, "brought you a glass of water. If you want it."

There was silence for a moment.

"Thanks," Taylor replied.

Isaac hesitated awkwardly.

"Want it on the dresser, or… on the floor with you?"

"On the floor. Here," Taylor indicated where he wanted it.

Isaac stepped over his legs and placed the glass where he’d wanted it, before turning to leave.

"Ike?"

"Yeah Tay?" Isaac stopped and turned.

Taylor opened his eyes again and looked up.

"Can you… stay?" he asked in almost a whisper.

"Sure," Isaac frowned slightly.

He closed the door, then slipped down onto his bed. He noticed Taylor trying to reach up for him and took his hand.

"Just don’t leave me," he practically pleaded.

"I won’t. We won’t. We know he wants you to be alone," Isaac promised, "we’ll be there for you the whole time, ok?"

Taylor looked up at him tiredly, then closed his eyes again and tried to make his body relax.

"Do you think you could try and have a drink?" Isaac suggested.

Taylor hesitated, but nodded.

Getting him to sit up slightly, Isaac placed the glass in Taylor’s hand, and made sure he held it steady as he sipped at it. He didn’t have very much before he pushed the glass away.

It wasn’t long before he started retching again. Isaac watched on helplessly, still keeping hold of his brother’s hand and squeezing it every now and then to make sure he knew he was there.

Finally, the urge subsided, and Taylor rolled onto his back again.

"I hate this," he whispered with a cringe.

"I know, I know…"


	80. 79

Taylor froze as he awoke on the doctor’s table, for more reasons than one.

"T’was a little matter of trust Jordan, that’s all," came the doctor’s voice from the chair.

Taylor gulped slightly, before turning his head so he could see him. He didn’t bother trying to move – he could feel the straps around his wrists and ankles cutting into his skin already.

"Just to measure the amount of time before you decide you can no longer obey my command."

"What command?" Taylor asked uneasily, shifting slightly as the doctor stood.

"To be still, of course."

Taylor kept his eye on him as he came over to the table and peered down into his face.

"Trust me… tonight won’t hurt a bit," he smiled slightly.

"Why should I trust you?" Taylor stuttered, frowning as he leant away from him.

The doctor tilted his head slightly, then reached over and placed the palm of his right hand over Taylor’s forehead.

"Because my words are all that you hear. They are all that is there to comfort you, and they are all you have to believe in," he said softly.

Taylor shivered slightly at his touch, trying not to give in as he was suddenly overcome with the urge to close his eyes.

"Relax for a moment. We’re just going to do a little exercise."

Taylor twisted his wrists nervously as he finally closed his eyes – still feeling the doctor’s hand on his forehead.

"Repeat after me. Ready?"

"Yes Sir," Taylor replied softly, wondering what he was getting into.

"Peach. Apple. Orange. Go."

"Peach, apple, orange," Taylor frowned slightly.

"Good. Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear."

"Peach, apple, orange, pear."

"Don’t speed up too far. Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear. Banana."

"Peach, apple, orange, pear, banana."

"Good. Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear. Banana. Pineapple."

"Peach, apple, orange, pear, banana, pineapple."

Taylor resisted the urge to open his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear. Banana. Pineapple."

"Peach, apple, orange, pear, banana, pineapple."

"Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear. Banana. Pineapple," he repeated.

"Peach, apple, orange, banana, pear, pineapple."

The doctor smiled slightly, before repeating himself again.

"Peach. Apple. Orange. Pear. Banana. Pineapple."

"Peach, apple, orange, banana, pear, pineapple."

He soon noticed Taylor’s change of facial expression.

"Something wrong, Taylor?"

"I…" Taylor shook his head and opened his eyes.

"What just happened?"

"A number of things just happened," the doctor smiled, "shall we continue?"

"What are you doing to me?" Taylor demanded, attempting to sit up and failing miserably.

"You know how this works Taylor. Now, settle down."

Taylor ground his teeth for a moment uncertainly, before laying back down and allowing the doctor to replace his hand to his forehead.

"Now where were we…?"


	81. 80

"I hate it when this happens," Isaac murmured, his eyes on Taylor.

"What? What happened?" Zac asked worriedly, "don’t tell me it’s broken bones again, because…"

"Nothing. Nothing’s happened."

"Oh," Zac hesitated.

"Then how can you hate something that happened if nothing happened in the first place for you to hate?"

Isaac glanced up at him, then looked down on Taylor again.

"Because no scars are sometimes worse than scars, remember?"

"A valid point," Zac yawned.

"You’re not going out tonight, are you?"

"Damn it Ike. It’s not even 6am yet, and you’re already…"

"Zac? Stop. That’s all I needed to know."

Zac frowned and was about to say something to that, before the clock started chiming. After three chimes, Taylor’s eyelids fluttered open.

"’Morning Tay," Isaac said, slightly nervously.

"’Morning," Taylor replied, scratching his forehead before sitting up.

"So…" Zac began.

"What happened?" Isaac ended for him.

Taylor hesitated, confused.

"I’m not all that sure this time," he frowned, "but… no scars or anything, it didn’t hurt."

"What did he do?" Zac folded his arms as he stood at the end of the bed.

"I don’t know," Taylor shook his head, throwing the covers off himself and standing up.

"You seem… ok," Isaac was doing his best not to look surprised as he stood up beside him.

"I think I am," Taylor just looked even more confused.

"Ah… I’m going to have a shower. I’ll see you guys downstairs."

Isaac and Zac watched as he left the room, then turned to each other.

"Did you notice anything weird?" Isaac asked.

"That in itself was weird," Zac replied, "I think we’re too used to seeing him with something wrong with him."

He headed for the door.

"That might be it. But still," Isaac shook his head, "there’s got to be… he can’t just be ok. It’s like a rule, right?"

 

Zac shrugged, before heading to the kitchen. Isaac heard the shower running as he began to follow him.

About twenty minutes later, Isaac realized he’d been staring at Taylor’s breakfast for fifteen minutes.

"Zac?"

"Yep?"

"How long does Tay normally take in the shower?"

"Not this long."

Isaac hesitated, then stood.

"He could just be enjoying his first proper one in weeks," Zac suggested.

"I don’t think we’re that lucky somehow," Isaac insisted as he left the room.

"Good point," Zac murmured, getting back to his breakfast.

"Hey Tay?" Isaac called as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah Ike?"

"When are you planning on coming out of there? Christmas?"


	82. 81

"Why?" Taylor called out, confused.

"Well you’ve been in there twenty minutes. We were almost afraid you’d drowned."

Taylor chuckled to himself.

"Good one Ike. I’ll only be a minute."

"Alright. Hurry up, you’re breakfast is getting cold."

He made his way back down to the kitchen.

"Is he alive?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Must just be enjoying himself for once."

"He needed a break anyway. Just didn’t think he’d get one."

"Maybe we could use this to our advantage," Isaac leant over the bench thoughtfully, "I mean, now we only have one week to work with."

Zac dropped the plastic plate he’d been holding, before quickly stooping to collect the spillage.

"What, you weren’t expecting it?"

"No, it’s just…" Zac shook his head, "I thought time was only supposed to fly when you were having fun."

"Tell me about it," Isaac raised his eyebrows, waiting as Zac cleared up.

"So you think… while Tay’s in his right mindset finally that he could help us somehow?" Zac asked finally, sitting on a nearby stool.

"I’m willing to explore every possible angle," Isaac shrugged.

Zac nodded, then frowned.

"What?" Isaac noticed.

"Ike, that shower’s not showing any sign of slowing down. What did you say to him?"

"He said he’d be out in a minute," Isaac insisted.

"Well it’s been a bit more than a minute."

"Well you can go up this time if you want," Isaac offered.

"Gee, thanks."

Zac slid off the stool and made his way up to the bathroom, then started banging on the door.

"Taylor?! Get out! You’re using all the hot water!"

"We have an electric water system you idiot. And I’ll be out soon anyway. Yeesh."

"Yeah, that’s what you said last time. Get out!"

"What last time?" Taylor asked himself, before shaking it off, "alright! Alright!"

"I’m not leaving until you get out. You’ve been in there almost half an hour."

"Yeah, right."

Zac paused for thought for a moment, before smiling slightly as the water shut off.

"See you downstairs."

"Ok."

Zac made his way back to where Isaac sat in the living room.

"We have progress," he announced.

"Finally."

It wasn’t long before Taylor joined them, looking curiously at the palms of his hands.

"Something wrong Tay?" Isaac looked up.

"No, not really," he seemed slightly unnerved, "it’s just… well, look."

He held his hands out, and Zac and Isaac both leant in to look.

"So you’re hands are wrinkled because of all the time you spent underwater. So?" Isaac looked clueless.

"All the…" Taylor just looked confused, "but I only spent a couple of minutes in there."


	83. 82

"I knew we weren’t lucky enough to get a day off," Isaac murmured, his chin resting on his hand with the respective elbow on his knee.

"You thought I had a day off?" Taylor raised his eyebrows from the opposite couch.

"Well it wasn’t hard to think that," Isaac shrugged, "there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with you this morning."

Zac was just staring at his watch where he sat on the floor between them.

Taylor looked down at him, then tilted his head slightly.

"I think that when this is over, I’m going to either move out, or destroy every clock in the house."

Isaac chuckled and Zac smiled – both for the first time in a long time.

"At least you’re thinking positive," Zac pointed out.

Taylor shrugged and leant back.

"I’m sick of thinking negative. It was time for a change."

Isaac regarded him curiously for a moment, before turning his eyes to Zac.

"And there we go," Zac said, looking up at Taylor.

A confused expression crossed Taylor’s face.

"Tay?" Zac caught his attention, "you’re suffering memory loss, ok? We’re not sure what he did to you last night, but you can only remember things for about ten minutes and then you forget everything. It’s just after midday, and it’s Saturday."

Taylor hesitated as he digested this, then frowned.

"Great."

"That’s what you said the last twenty times Zac’s done that," Isaac seemed amused.

Taylor glanced at him, then folded his arms across his chest.

"We haven’t had lunch yet, have we?" he asked suddenly.

"How’d you know that?" Zac looked up curiously.

"My stomach’s growling."

"No, we haven’t," Isaac mused, before getting up.

"I’ll get something together."

It was well beyond dark outside when Taylor noticed Zac’s fingers tapping anxiously.

"What’s up with you?" he asked innocently.

"How do you mean?" Zac looked up.

He was sitting where Isaac had been previously, and Taylor hadn’t really moved.

"Well… your fingers are tapping more than mine do normally," he replied.

Zac looked over at him, then shook his head.

"What would it matter? You’d forget in a few minutes anyway," he said.

Taylor just stared at him for a second and then turned away.

"Sorry Tay," Zac said when he realized how he’d said it.

"Never mind," Taylor waved him off, getting up and leaving the room.

"Hey Tay," Isaac greeted as he bumped into him in the doorway.

"Hi."

Isaac watched after him as he headed for the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"What’s with him?" he asked Zac, who simply shrugged.

Taylor made his way over to the dresser and grabbed a notebook. He then sat on his bed and started to write.

_You are suffering short term memory loss, and can only remember things for ten minutes or so. It’s Saturday, and almost time to go back. Zac’s up to something._

He sat back against the wall and brought his knees in to his chest. Keeping the notebook where he could see it, he hugged his legs to him and closed his eyes.

"Please, someone," he whispered, "get me out of this hell hole."


	84. 83

"Don’t push him away, please," Taylor begged as he held Isaac’s hand.

"I won’t, I promise," Isaac replied, "I’m just going to see where he goes. It’s driving me insane not knowing."

"Yeah I know," Taylor sighed as the clock began to chime.

"Goodnight Tay."

"’Night," he sighed, closing his eyes.

Isaac hesitated, hearing the front door open.

"Good luck Tay," he whispered, before letting go of his hand and standing up.

He grabbed a jacket and left the room. Ready to follow Zac to wherever he was going.

When Taylor awoke, he found himself back where he had been the night before. In the same situation.

"Well hello there," the doctor smiled down on him.

"I would venture a guess as the fact that you did not miss me today, as technically, you would have seen me all of about fifteen minutes ago?"

"Something like that," Taylor murmured, turning his eyes away.

The doctor was silent, as his fingers slowly crawled over Taylor’s left wrist and to the buckle on the strap holding it down.

Taylor flinched as he suddenly pulled it tighter.

"That’s a feeling I’d get used to."

"I’m not… going anywhere. You don’t have to," Taylor stammered.

He stopped himself from crying out as the doctor pulled it tighter.

"You being restrained, Taylor, really has nothing to do with what is taking place."

Taylor gulped and closed his eyes, clenching his fists in the process. The doctor then leant over him and did the same to the other wrist.

The sight of Taylor cringing brought a smile to his face.

He did the same to his ankles, then went to retrieve something from the cupboard. Taylor soon felt additional tight straps being tied around his elbows and knees.

Isaac meanwhile, had followed Zac into a suburban area. Zac had pulled into the driveway of a small cottage, and Isaac now parked a few houses away on the side of the road.

He watched as his brother went up to the front door and knocked before soon being let in.

Isaac rubbed his chin as he thought it over. Now he knew where Zac was coming to – he was that much closer to finding out what was going on.

Now he just had to stake out the neighbourhood until Zac came out again.

"You know what I am doing already, correct?" the doctor asked casually.

"You’re cutting off my circulation," Taylor replied with a grunt, trying to pull on his arms.

"Indeed I am."

"You’re not going to amputate, are you?" Taylor asked suddenly, worry in his eyes.

The doctor stifled a chuckle.

"I believe that as far as amputation goes, I’ve done just about as much already as I have been allowed."

"And what about ‘will be’?" Taylor demanded.

"That hasn’t been decided yet," the doctor insisted, looking down on him again.

"But you at least have tonight’s grace."

Taylor bit his bottom lip at that, trying to stop his eyes welling up. He tried tugging on the straps, but his hands and feet were already purple.

"When does this end?" he asked suddenly, starting to pant.

"Why ask questions to which you already know the answer?" the doctor seemed to shake his head pityingly, "you know we have but a week to go."

Taylor took a deep breath and leant his head back again.

"Just checking."


	85. 84

Isaac yawned for the ten thousandth time as he waited for any sign of Zac emerging from the house he’d gone into hours ago.

Checking the clock on the car stereo, he realized it was almost 1am.

"Damn Zac, come on," he murmured, letting his head fall back but still keeping his eyes on the house.

Not a moment after he spoke, he saw the front door open.

Quickly turning the stereo off, Isaac slid down in his seat so he could only just see his brother step through the door, soon followed by a girl that could only be described as tiny in size. She was skinnier than Taylor, and barely came up to Zac’s shoulders. The clothes she wore were black and flowing, and Isaac could only think ‘gothic’.

Isaac watched with concentration as she followed him to the gate where they stopped to talk. Zac seemed rather tense – mainly by the way he stood – and the girl had her arms folded across her chest to shield herself from the cold.

Isaac noted that she wasn’t wearing much. A long black skirt with bare feet, and a long sleeved shirt leaving her long black hair to cover where her shoulders and back were showing.

After spending a good few minutes just talking, the girl reached up on her tip toes to give Zac a kiss on the cheek, before he began over to his car.

"Zachary Walker Hanson, you are dead meat."

The girl watched as he got into his car, then backed down the driveway and took off for home. She looked around for a moment, then headed back inside – turning the porch light off on her way.

Grudgingly, Isaac sat up in his seat again and started the van. Hoping to beat Zac back, he took the back streets home.

And beat him.

He quickly parked the van where he’d gotten it from, then headed up to the house and slipped inside just as he heard Zac’s car coming down the street. Breathing a sigh of relief, he headed for the kitchen to get himself a drink and something to eat.

It wasn’t long before he heard Zac hesitate in the front doorway, realizing that someone was up. He soon appeared in the kitchen.

"You’re up late," he said simply, before frowning when he realized the clothes Isaac wore.

"Ah… been somewhere?"

"Yes I have," Isaac replied, having a drink of water.

Zac raised his eyebrows as he hung up his keys.

"Who is she Zac?"

Zac froze, then looked up at him.

"You followed me?" he frowned.

Isaac shrugged and leant back against the bench.

"Ike, you followed me? Why?!" his look turned into a glare.

"Why do you think?" Isaac countered, "who is she, Zac?"

"That is none of your business," Zac insisted.

"Well I figure if my brother has a secret girlfriend, then somehow I do have a right to know."

"Secret girl- Ike, you don’t know anything about her!"

"So she’s not your girlfriend?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

"Would you just stay out of this?!" Zac exclaimed, exasperated.

"Tell me one good reason why I should," Isaac challenged, "because at the moment it looks to me as if you’ve been ditching Taylor – who is in dire need of our help right now – for a girl that you could see any other day of the week before or after this is over."

Zac was fuming.

"Because this is my life, ok?" he spread his arms.

"And I’m sorry if you can’t handle that. But there is nothing you can possibly do that will stop me doing what I am doing."

"Yeah well we’ll see about that," Isaac scorned.

Zac stopped himself from growling as he turned his back and headed for his bedroom.


	86. 85

"Tay? Tay? Come on man…"

Isaac was trying to wake his brother up. Three chimes had gone by, but it seemed that as soon as Taylor had awoken he’d fainted.

"This’ll get him up," Zac insisted, coming into the room with a bowl of ice, "could help his arms too."

"You can’t throw that over him!"

"I wasn’t planning to," Zac insisted, grabbing one block of ice and sitting it against the side of Taylor’s neck.

His eyes shot open.

"There we go," Zac said softly.

Taylor looked up at them for a second, before closing his eyes with a cringe.

"Why… can’t I feel my arms and legs?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"We’re not sure," Isaac replied carefully, "but they’re looking very, very, ugly."

"Looks like he cut off your circulation pretty bad or something," Zac added.

"That’s what he did," Taylor confirmed.

Zac hissed through his teeth, before scratching his head.

"We need to get you up Tay, we’ve got church this morning."

"Church?" Taylor looked up, startled.

"Yeah, it’s Sunday," Isaac tried to hush him, "don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. For now… ah… just try and get some movement back into your limbs, ok?"

Taylor gulped when he saw the state his left arm was in. It was not only a dark red in colour, but also showed signs of purple, blue… and in parts yellow or green.

"Oh, dude…" he moaned, laying back down.

"Come on Tay, we can do it," Isaac insisted, starting to rub his arm to try and get the blood flowing again.

"I’m so sick of feeling disabled," Taylor murmured, his eyes to the ceiling.

"And meanwhile, I’m beginning to think I should get a job at a nursing home."

That brought a smile to Taylor’s face.

"I’ll get some breakfast together," Zac offered, before leaving the room to do so.

Taylor glanced at Isaac for a second, then returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"So?"

"So…?"

"So what happened last night?"

Isaac hesitated, thinking of how to put it.

"We had a little disagreement."

"Ike…" Taylor gave him his best rendition of the warning look.

"I followed him to a house about fifteen, twenty minutes away. He came out with a girl. She kissed him."

A small smile crept onto Taylor’s face.

"So our little brother has a girlfriend?"

"That’s what everything points to. But why he’s being so evasive about it I’m yet to figure out."

"Maybe she’s shy," Taylor shrugged, "maybe she doesn’t want people finding out she’s dating a Hanson."

"No, I’m sure it’s more than that. He was too defensive when he got back."

"I would have been defensive if you’d followed me and found my secret girlfriend."

"Somehow I can’t picture you with a secret girlfriend right now," Isaac raised his eyebrows.

"I can dream. And I’m sure you wouldn’t have pictured Zac with one either."

"Well not while this is happening I wouldn’t, no."


	87. 86

Zac helped Taylor out the back of the van when they arrived at the church that morning. It was all Taylor could do to walk, and he needed all the help he could get.

He and Isaac had managed to get probably about as much feeling back into his legs and arms as they could – and now Taylor was suffering a severe case of pins and needles that he didn’t believe was going to end any time soon. But the main point was that he could at least feel his legs in order to walk on them.

Even if they felt like they would collapse at any second. Isaac and Zac just had to be there in case they did.

They were greeted at the door by the pastor without hassle, and soon went to find their seats for the service.

Afterwards, they sat debating whether or not to approach the pastor again.

"There’s nothing we really need to talk to him about this week," Taylor insisted, rubbing his legs to try and get them working again.

"But this could also be our last chance. Maybe he could give us some pointers or something," Isaac shrugged.

"I think next week’s the last chance. But we are getting very close to this deadline, and I think it’s time we started to learn about what’s going down," Zac insisted.

Taylor cringed slightly at that, but nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright. We’ll see him."

It wasn’t long before everyone had filed from the church, and the pastor noticed he still had company. With a sigh, he closed the main doors.

"You know boys, a lot of people who’ve noticed you’ve been staying believe you’ve been helping out around the church. They’re admiring you for it."

Taylor chuckled.

"Sorry Sir," Isaac couldn’t hold back a smile.

The pastor made it to their pew and stared at Taylor in interest for a moment.

"So how may we be of service today?" he asked finally.

"Well we’ve only got one week to go…" Zac began awkwardly, rubbing his lap as he spoke, "and well… this thing that we’re supposed to be waiting for the right time for…"

"You wish to know when the ‘right time’ is, don’t you?"

"Well… yeah. Because we’re really starting to get the feeling that it’s some kind of hoax," Zac looked up.

The pastor shook his head as Isaac and Taylor just watched on.

"We would not pull a hoax as large as this young Zachary," he insisted, "we merely wish to not set your hopes or standards too high. After all, nothing is certain."

"So until when do we have to wait?" Isaac spoke up.

The pastor looked up at him and stared into his eyes rather intimidatingly for a moment. Isaac held his gaze.

"I would like to extend an invitation for you, Isaac, to join us here next Friday evening," the pastor said at last.

"Why him?" Zac demanded.

"Why Friday?" Taylor asked worriedly.

Isaac looked between them for a moment, before raising his eyebrows at the pastor.

The old man sighed again, before sitting beside Zac on the end of the pew.

"Friday will be the Dream Doctor’s second last chance. We believe it is better to try something on this night. The moon will be the closest it can to being full."

"So next Saturday is it?" Taylor gulped.

"Next Saturday is the deadline."

Taylor’s gaze hit the floor.

"Why me?" Isaac repeated Zac’s question, "not saying that I don’t want to help my brother of course, I’m just wondering why you chose me straight off."

"You will see on Friday why you were chosen," the pastor insisted, standing up again, "come, I will see you out."

"This is weird," Zac whispered, as he and Isaac helped Taylor stand up and start walking.


	88. 87

"What do you think he wants you to do?" Taylor looked up at Isaac nervously.

"Well I have no idea," Isaac shrugged from where he was sitting on his bed.

"Let’s just hope you’re not going to be in some kind of immediate danger there," Zac frowned suddenly as he leant against the doorframe.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Taylor shook his head, looking suddenly edgy.

"About tonight or Friday?" Zac asked.

"Friday. I think."

"Maybe it’s something to do with the doctor?" Isaac suggested, but hesitantly.

Taylor just shook his head.

"He said he can’t affect me during the day. I don’t think this has anything to do with him. Directly, anyway."

"He made you suicidal," Zac pointed out.

"But how could I not be?" Taylor challenged, looking up at him.

Zac didn’t reply, before Taylor’s head fell again.

"Hospital tomorrow, Tay," Isaac said after a moment.

"I know," Taylor sighed, closing his eyes.

Then he glanced up at the clock.

"I guess I’ll see you guys in the morning."

"That you will," Isaac nodded.

Taylor slid under the sheets, before glancing up at Zac.

"You’ll be fine," Zac insisted, managing a short smile.

Taylor nodded with a shaky breath as the clock began to chime. Six chimes later, he was out.

Zac scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as Isaac also began to get ready for bed.

"This is really getting weird," he admitted after a moment’s silence.

"It was weird from the start."

"Yeah, but… at least we kinda knew what would happen on a daily basis," Zac shrugged nervously.

Isaac sighed.

"Don’t worry about it, just get some sleep," he insisted.

Zac hesitated for a moment as if to begin arguing with him, then backed out of the room.

"Goodnight dude."

"Goodnight," Isaac replied, slipping under his sheets and turning the light off.

Taylor had awoken to find himself back on the table again, and unable to move.

"I don’t like this. I really don’t like this," he heard the doctor muttering.

He tried to turn his head to see him, but only managed to move his eyes.

"They’re up to something. I can feel it."

"Who?" Taylor managed to force himself not to stutter.

"The priests of course!"

The doctor suddenly came into view as he stood over Taylor and looked down on him.

"Things aren’t working out quite the way I’d had planned," he raised his eyebrows with a forced smirk.

"How do you mean?" Taylor’s voice quite obviously shook.

The doctor ground his teeth for a moment, before disappearing from sight again. Taylor heard the cupboard doors open and shivered.

"They are planning to take you from me. I know it. I shall have to bind you from them. It’s such an annoying practice, but unfortunately this time it must be done."

"This time?" Taylor gulped, closing his eyes as his mind raced.

"Of course not many of my… clients acquire aid. Therefore it is not always needed."


	89. 88

If Taylor hadn’t known the extent of his claustrophobia, he’d sure learnt it now.

Powerless, he could only watch and feel as the doctor carried out his personal ‘binding’ ritual, involving some kind of ragged mummification on his part.

By the time the doctor made it to Taylor’s chest, his body was literally shaking. The doctor raised his eyebrows.

"You do realize, Taylor, that this will not hurt you. Don’t you?"

Taylor just gulped and closed his eyes.

The doctor tilted his head, a smile spreading across his face.

"I see."

Taylor’s eyes opened again as he continued, until he began wrapping his head. Taylor was trying hard to resist at this point, though he knew – even though he was paralyzed – that he wouldn’t be able to move at that point in time even if he’d had control over his own body.

"This won’t take long," the doctor insisted, finally covering Taylor’s eyes.

When he was done, he stood back from the table and muttered something incoherent under his breath. And try as he might, Taylor couldn’t work out his words.

He shivered as he felt the doctor place his hands on his chest and pelvis, but managed to keep himself from passing out altogether.

After only a matter of minutes, which seemed like a lifetime to Taylor, the doctor began to remove the bandages – starting from Taylor’s feet.

As he came to removing the bandages from Taylor’s head, he stopped at his eyes. Taylor began to fret again when he realized he couldn’t ask what was going to happen.

The doctor muttered a few more words, before removing the bandage from his eyes.

Taylor’s eye shot open, and as soon as he could, he sat up.

"What was that?" his voice shook, not daring to look into the doctor’s eyes yet.

"That… was all for tonight. You may go early," the doctor replied, packing the bandage away into the cupboard again.

Taylor just looked confused, before vertigo forced him to lay down on the table again. A moment later, he sat up in bed.

"Taylor?" came Isaac’s voice.

Taylor’s eyes darted across to him, more than slightly freaked out. He ran his fingers through his hair, before looking up to see Zac standing in the doorway again. His younger brother looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

"What happened?" Isaac’s voice distracted him from his thoughts.

"Ah…" Taylor began nervously with a frown.

He hesitating, realizing he didn’t really know anything. Apart from…

"He mummified me."

"He what?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"It was some binding thing… Oh God," Taylor covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes darting.

"He said he was binding me from the pastors. Ike?!"

Isaac’s eyes widened slightly, as Taylor searched them for any sign of an idea. When he was refused, he shook his head and bit his lip.

"This can’t be it. It can’t be," Zac insisted, letting his arms fall from where he’d had them folded across his chest.

"What else can it be?" Taylor fretted, "I mean… the pastor’s were my last hope, weren’t they? With whatever they were going to do?"

"Taylor? Calm down for a moment," Isaac insisted softly, "we don’t know… we were never told what they were going to do. Now, the pastor told me to go there Friday night, and the psychic said something about Zac and I having to help. Maybe they’ll have nothing to do with… whatever we have to do?"

Taylor shook his head.

"But can I take that chance?" his voice cracked on the last word.

Isaac glanced up at Zac, then returned his attention to Taylor.

"Maybe we should find out what’s really going on, first."


	90. 89

Taylor’s knee was bouncing as he and Zac sat beside each other in the hospital corridor.

Zac’s eyes darted toward it, before he clacked his teeth a few times.

"We’ll be fine," he insisted, "it’ll be a quick in and out. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about," Taylor almost chortled, "if one tiny thing goes wrong they could have me locked up within the hour."

"But it’s not going to happen," Zac insisted, looking up as a doctor appeared from a nearby office.

He stopped in front of them.

"Jordan Hanson?" he inquired, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

Taylor stood.

"Follow me. Your friend can come if he wants. For the first part only."

"I’m his brother," Zac corrected, standing up beside him, "and yeah, I will."

The three made their way down the corridor, before turning left into a small consultation room. The doctor closed the door behind them as they took their seats.

"Ok Jordan…" he began, moving to sit behind the desk in the room.

"He goes by Taylor," Zac corrected again.

"Taylor then," the doctor said after a slight pause, "we will start off with a questionnaire. After that your brother will need to leave the room as I follow up with discussion and question time."

Taylor just nodded as the doctor prepared what looked like a multiple choice quiz, and picked up a nearby pen and held it out to him.

Hesitating only for a moment, Taylor reached out and took it before pulling his chair in to the desk to make it easier to write.

"Is there a time limit?" he asked softly.

"Take all the time you need," the doctor insisted, as Zac sat back and folded his arms across his chest – his eyes not leaving Taylor for a second.

Taylor took the questionnaire in his stride. There were no questions out of the ordinary, and most answers were plain and simple. A few he had to think about, mainly dealing with psychology and his thinking habits, but he did finish in only a few minutes.

The doctor had been watching from the other side of the desk the entire time, as had Zac from behind. Only the doctor could see the questions and answers – Zac couldn’t.

Taylor slid the papers toward the doctor and moved his chair back slightly before putting the pen back on the table. Zac just raised his eyebrows as they both waited for a reaction.

The doctor read the test over, before taking a deep breath.

"Very well. I will need to speak to Taylor alone for now," he looked toward Zac and indicated the door.

Zac nodded and stood up, patting Taylor on the shoulder as he walked past.

"See you soon."

"Yeah," Taylor replied nervously, before suddenly freezing in what seemed to be shock.

Zac stopped himself as the doctor frowned.

"Tay?" Zac tried to get his attention.

Taylor snapped back into reality, and jumped up from his chair.

"Zac?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"What? What?" Zac searched his eyes.

Then Taylor remembered where he was, and glanced at the doctor warily.

"Um… I ah… I just remembered… You left the stove on. Do you want to go back and, and turn it off and come back for me later? Or, or maybe you should call Ike…"

Zac could tell by Taylor’s stuttering that he was lying. He glanced toward the doctor before letting a worried look cross his face.

"Damn, I knew I forgot something. I’ll call Ike, don’t worry about it. I’ll see you when you come out," he insisted, before backing out the door.

"Ok," Taylor agreed, sitting down again after rubbing his face.

"Sorry about that," he apologized to the doctor, looking him over, "he’s done that before. He almost burnt the place down last time…"


	91. 90

Zac was subconsciously slapping his knees in time to the beat in his head when he heard the door of the consultation room open. Not sure at first if Taylor was ready to leave, he remained seated.

As soon as he saw him following the doctor out however, he shot to his feet.

"Tay?"

"I’m fine," Taylor smiled, "it went well."

"He passed," the doctor confirmed with a nod, "now if you’d like to follow me Taylor…"

"Paperwork," Taylor shrugged, "back in a second."

Zac ground his teeth for a moment as he waited until they disappeared, then sat down again. He debated whether or not to call Isaac, but then remembered not to turn his phone on in a hospital.

Another fifteen minutes or so, Taylor appeared again.

"That’s it?" Zac raised his eyebrows.

"That’s it," Taylor sighed, "I can go. Thank God."

"I’ll second that," Zac raised his eyebrows, standing up and pulling his car keys from his pocket.

He hesitated as Taylor stepped back from him when he was about to take his arm.

"You and I need to talk in the car, right?" he frowned.

Taylor scratched his left shoulder awkwardly, before looking back down the corridor.

"Ok," he agreed, "let’s just get out of here. I’ve seen enough doctors to last me forever."

"And I don’t blame you," Zac insisted with a smile, before leading his brother toward the entrance then out to their car.

Once they were seated inside and Zac had started the engine, Taylor shook his head.

"I saw you die Zac," he blurted.

Zac hesitated, raising his eyebrows.

"What, when you freaked out before I left the room?"

"It was surreal," Taylor squinted slightly, "it was almost like a premonition. I don’t know what the heck it was."  
Zac shrugged, mainly to himself.

"Well I was wondering what he was going to give you today. I mean apart from the fact that you have nothing to show from last night…"

Taylor watched him for a moment as he moved the car from the car park and out onto the road, then sighed and hid his face in his hand.

"I never want to see that again," he insisted.  
"Graphic, I’m guessing?"

"Very. Extremely. Grossly. Excessively graphic."

"Fair enough. It happened when I put my hand on your shoulder, didn’t it?"

"It must be when I touch people," Taylor figured, staring out the window.

"Are you sure it’s not just me?" Zac asked warily, trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"Pretty sure. Because it happened with the doctor as well."

Zac whistled.

"Ok, so we’re not aloud to touch you today, that’s a given."

"It’d help," Taylor shrugged his shoulders.

When they arrived home, they saw Isaac sitting on the doorstep. He stood up as Zac and Taylor began to make their way up onto the porch.

"Well you’re not locked up, so that’s a good thing. Right?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I guess so," Taylor shrugged, "I’m going up to my room."

Isaac watched him carefully as he slipped past and through the front door. Then he turned back to Zac.

"So what happened?" he demanded, folding his arms.

"He’s fine," Zac said, "but don’t touch him. He’s getting visions of death or something."


	92. 91

"Tay?"

Taylor looked over at where Isaac lay on his own bed, staring at him curiously.

"Yeah?"

"Is there something on your mind? Apart from the obvious?" Isaac asked carefully, shifting onto his side.

Taylor hesitated, then faced the ceiling again.

"I was just thinking…" he sighed, "that there’s less than a week to go. This could very well be my last Monday night."

He bit his lip as Isaac hesitated, not knowing what to say. But then they heard the clock chiming.

"Goodnight Tay. And good luck."

"Thanks," Taylor said calmly, taking a deep breath before closing his eyes.

As soon as he opened them, he stumbled backwards slightly, not expecting to be standing up. He hit the back wall.

"You hardly took advantage of my little gift today, Taylor," came the doctor’s voice from the opposite corner of the room, "very disappointing."

Taylor gulped slightly, eyeing off the large wooden box that was in the centre of the floor.

When the doctor stood up from where he’d bent over, Taylor couldn’t help but acknowledge the sound of heavy chains.

"I’ve noticed something about you…" the doctor began softly, taking the chains to the wooden box and piling them in.

"And what’s that?" Taylor’s voice shook, wondering idly why he was aloud to speak out loud.

"You’re claustrophobic."

With those two words, Taylor felt an enormous sinking feeling in his chest and his legs couldn’t hold him up any longer. He slid down the wall until he was sitting, managing to keep his eye on the doctor.

"You’re not… you’re gonna… I’m not…"

"Yes, you are," the doctor answered before Taylor could ask the question.

It was then that the doctor made his way toward him, and leant forward to grab one of Taylor’s wrists so he could pull him up.

It wasn’t before he was actually on his feet that Taylor really registered what was happening.

"Please… no…" he shook his head, pulling back against the doctor.

He twisted his wrist so that the doctor had to let go, before backing up against the wall again and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Please don’t," he whispered, mainly to himself.

"I can’t. I can’t do it."

"You’ll have to, I’m afraid," came the doctor’s voice, "whether you want to or not."

Taylor soon found himself paralyzed, before the doctor practically dragged him over to the box. Grasping one of the cuffs at the end of a set of chains, he fastened it around Taylor’s right wrist before looping the chain over Taylor’s opposite shoulder.

Placing a belt around his waist, he used a clamp to fasten the chain, before doing the same to his other wrist. This crossed his arms over his chest more than tightly.

Taylor bowed his head once this was done, trying to keep his breathing regular. He knew he was already starting to lose it.

The doctor paused to look him over for a moment, before going to fetch something from the cupboard. Taylor looked up just in time to see what it was. Cringing, he turned his head away.

"Oh come on, this will be fun. I promise," the doctor insisted, grabbing Taylor’s hair to pull his head back.

Taylor hissed through his teeth before the doctor put the mask over his face – covering his eyes like a sort of blindfold followed by a bar that made its way straight across his mouth.

Taylor flinched as the straps were pulled tight behind his head, before he was forced down onto his knees. Similar cuffs to the ones around his wrists were placed around his ankles, and Taylor soon found that he couldn’t move. Once the doctor maneuvered him into a suitable position, he lay the box on it’s side and began to push Taylor into it.


	93. 92

Taylor found that as soon as the door closed on the box his paralysis diminished.

But paralysis or not, he still couldn’t move. And to add to his fears he couldn’t see, hear or speak. His legs and arms began to get very numb very quickly, and it was all he could do to keep himself together.

And then he felt the box moving.

Struggling to breath already, he suddenly deciphered the scent of dampened mulch.

Frowning with confusion, he began to hear running water. And then he felt it… Cool, clear water trickling into the box around his toes.

His eyes darting in the dark, he suddenly realized what was going to happen. He tried pushing against the door with his shoulder, but it was fastened as hard as it possibly could be.

Barely able to make a sound, his body shook uncontrollably as the water crept up to his ankles. His panic only began to reach epic proportions when the water engulfed his chest and his hands began to go under. Soon, he knew, he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

And then he’d suffocate. Drown. In the dark confines he was held in, covered with chains.

Then the water reached his face and he couldn’t tilt his head back any further.

He held his breath as long as he possibly could have, but not having his hands free to hold his face and also having the bar across his mouth, it wasn’t for long. His lungs began to feel like they were on fire, they were that desperate to for air. Just when he began to sink into oblivion…

He sat up in bed covered in water.

"What, the hell, was that?"

Taylor’s eyes shot to where Isaac sat on the floor next to his bed with a completely confused expression on his face.

"That’s not sweat, right?" came Zac’s voice from the door.

"It might as well be," Taylor replied, wiping his face off.

It was obvious to Zac and Isaac that he was trying to catch his breath.

"You look like a drowned rat," Zac stated bluntly, folding his arms and leaning back against the closed door.

"Thanks Zac."

"Do we need to ask what happened?" Isaac raised his eyebrows.

"I was drowning," Taylor shook his head, careful not to splatter water from his hair anywhere.

He looked down for a moment, then stood up from the bed. Water puddled around his feet, and when he looked back at the bed he noticed that there was a huge puddle where he’d been laying.

"This is unreal," he shook his head.

"Did something else happen?" Isaac asked casually, backing away from where the water was creeping toward him, before getting up altogether.

Taylor hesitated, before scratching his forehead.

"Maybe."

"I’ll get a towel or three," Zac offered, before opening the door and disappearing.

Taylor watched after him, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"So do I have to guess or are you going to tell me?" Isaac shook his head, sitting back on the bed as he kept his eye on him.

"He finally realized I was claustrophobic," Taylor shook his head, before turning and sitting on his own bed.

More water cascaded down his legs and onto the floor.

Isaac nodded.

"Ok," he said finally, knowing Taylor wouldn’t want to talk about it any further, "maybe we should bring in a couple of buckets as well."

Zac kicked the door open as he brought the towels in and threw one to Taylor.

"Get up. We have to get rid of this crap."

Taylor eyed Isaac for a second, before standing. Then they set to work on getting rid of all the water before anyone could walk by and see it.


	94. 93

"I have waited for this night for quite some time, Taylor."

Taylor looked up from where he had just awoken in the chair. The doctor stood in front of him, a scalpel in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Really?" his voice shook.

"Yes, really."

When the doctor didn’t move, Taylor’s eyes darted to the side worriedly.

"What… are you doing?" he asked carefully.

"I was wondering how long it’d take you to ask," the doctor smirked to himself, before turning his back.

He fetched a spray bottle full of a yellowish liquid from the cupboard, and set it on the nearby bench.

"But you’re not going to tell me anyway," Taylor said softly, following the doctor with his eyes.

"It should not take all that long to see."

The doctor came back to him and began to fix a strap around Taylor’s left elbow. That done, he picked up the scalpel again and began to shallowly cut a line down his arm. Taylor hissed through his teeth, and looked away as soon as the blood began to show.

He felt the doctor cutting a long rectangle down his arm, then hesitate. Taylor debated with himself whether to look back or not, before feeling the doctor starting to poke around the edge a little.

When he started to carefully peel the first or second layer of skin away, Taylor almost choked on his own saliva. The doctor had removed his voice once more, so it was practically all he could do.

He kept his eyes on his right arm, watching as the veins began to look like they were ready to burst right out from under his skin. His hand started turning the colour purple with the strength behind his clenched fist.  
When the doctor was done, he stood and walked back to the table. Taylor heard as the base of the spray bottle scraped along the table a little before the doctor picked it up and brought it back over to him.

Kneeling beside the chair, he began to spray a generous amount of the substance across the open wound.

Taylor’s eyes widened before he coughed, trying to stop his body shaking at the same time. He gasped a little, before he realized there was actually a rasping sound coming from his throat.

He frowned when he realized he could almost whisper his curses.

"I understand your confusion…" the doctor began, standing to replace the bottle on the bench.

"Your gift of speech is slightly returning, and I can no longer paralyze you. It is simply my powers dwindling in strength as the new moon approaches… which I’m sure due to your brothers’ assistance you would know quite a lot about by now."

Taylor cringed, almost crying out as the pain in his arm seemed to hit again.

The doctor turned to him and leant back against the bench to watch for a moment.

"Mace, while not doing much harm, can be extremely painful in the right instance can it not?" he seemed to chuckle to himself.

Taylor just shook his head as the nerves in his arm began to react. Sweat began beading on his forehead.

"You do realize there are many, many places I can do this, correct?"

Taylor nodded, biting his lip as his eyes began welling up.

"Then let us begin."

Taylor almost groaned, before relaxing his arm for second to take a deep breath. He soon clenched his fists again as the doctor approached with the scalpel again. This time, the doctor traced Taylor’s jaw line with the blade for a moment, as if to decide where to cut Taylor’s face.

"It makes you feel so vulnerable, doesn’t it?" the doctor whispered, threading his fingers through Taylor’s hair to hold his head still so he could run the knife below his left eye.

"Answer me Taylor."

"Yes Sir," he managed to stammer quietly, before gulping.

The doctor smiled, before beginning to carefully cut a thin line around the base of Taylor’s neck. He played around a little more, before going to retrieve the mace again.


	95. 94

"Are you ok?"

Taylor hesitated a moment, before sitting up a little and looking across at Isaac.

"It’s starting," he said simply.

"What’s starting?" Isaac asked worriedly, throwing his sheets aside as he sat up and put his feet on the floor.

"His powers are starting to weaken," Taylor replied, putting his hand on his forehead for a moment.

"He couldn’t paralyze me. And he’s having trouble containing my voice."

"So…"

"If we’re going to do something now’s the time to do it."

"So what are we going to do?" came Zac’s voice.

They looked up to see him standing in the doorway again.

"Well I think…"

"I think it’s time for you to go and see the old lady again," Taylor cut Isaac off, scratching his head.

Isaac hesitated, then nodded.

"Ok. I’ll go in a couple of hours. Then perhaps she’ll be awake," he raised his eyebrows.

"We’re still leaving the church until Friday?" Zac frowned a little.

"Well they know what’s going on, so they say. I’d hope they knew what they were talking about," Taylor stretched his arms out.

Zac and Isaac both caught sight of the new scars running down them, and couldn’t help but stare a little. When Taylor noticed, he folded his arms.

"Ok, so…"

"I bags the shower," Zac announced, before disappearing from sight.

Taylor raised his eyebrows, pursing his lips.

"Fair enough," Isaac shrugged, "and I’ll make breakfast. You can help me for once."

Taylor chuckled a little, before finally getting up.

Not long after eight o’clock, Isaac found himself in the street of the old psychic. He slowed as he approached the house, noticing straight away the amount of cars parked outside.

There were at least twelve, and more scattered down the street. A group of people in dark clothing stood around the front gate talking.

"Oh no… no, no, no…"

Isaac bit his lip as he pulled up a few houses before. A few people glanced in his direction, but paid him no mind. Except for one.

As Isaac contemplated what the heck he was going to do, a girl of about fifteen and wearing a black dress made her way over to his van. He watched her for a moment, before he realized that yes, she was heading straight for him.

He rolled his window down, before she stopped beside his door.

"Isaac?"

"Yes?" he almost gulped, before glancing back at the house.

"What… what happened?"

"My grandmother, who used to live there, passed away three nights ago," the girl said softly, leaning her arms on the door.

"She said you would show up at about this time wanting to see her."

"She’s dead?" Isaac frowned, before his look turned to one of pure worry.

"She told me to tell you something," the girl went on, seemingly oblivious.

"She said to tell you that it was going to be ok. Not to worry about them. And that you wouldn’t see everything straight away no matter how hard you looked."

"That’s a little cryptic," Isaac shifted in his seat slightly.

"Just passing on a message. Good luck, Isaac. I know what’s happening, but I can’t help."

With that, she walked back to the house and became lost in the crowd.


	96. 95

Taylor and Zac looked up from the couches in the living room as they heard the front door open.

"That was quick," Zac murmured.

"Too quick," Taylor insisted, getting up to meet Isaac in the doorway.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"She’s dead," Isaac said straight out.

Taylor’s eyes widened.

"She’s…"

"Dead?" Zac finished with a frown.

"She died Sunday night. The funeral was today," he leant back against the doorframe with his hands on his head, "her granddaughter apparently knew I was coming. She just said to say that everything would be ok."

"In a mocking way or in a serious way?" Taylor shook his head, his hands starting to shake.

"I couldn’t tell. It was like she didn’t know what she was saying."

"Well isn’t that just great?" Zac rolled his eyes, getting up from the couch.

Taylor watched him, then closed his eyes.

"What do we do now?" he asked, "what… do I do? Do we just wait until Friday? Are we only relying on the church?"

"We can’t have misplaced our faith all these years," Isaac shook his head, putting his hand on Taylor’s shoulder.

"Well this will be a test, won’t it?" Taylor said as he looked up.

He stared Isaac straight in the eye for a moment, before disappearing from the room altogether.

"Things aren’t exactly working out, are they?" Zac said bluntly.

Isaac glared at him, before making his way into the kitchen. Zac raised his hands in surrender, before sitting down again to watch TV.

That night, Isaac walked into his room to see Taylor sitting on his bed lost in thought.

"What’s on your mind? Same old, same old?" he asked casually.

Taylor glanced up, then returned to biting his nails nervously.

"I don’t know," he said finally, keeping his head down, "I was just thinking over… How his powers are shutting down. He can’t restrain me as well as he used to, and…"

He shook his head.

"I don’t know. I don’t know if it’d be worth… you know…"

"Fighting back?" Isaac said softly, closing the door and taking his shirt off.

"Yeah," Taylor sighed.

Isaac took a deep breath as he removed his shoes, then stared at his brother for a moment as he sat down on his bed. After a moment, he leant forward.

"Would you really think it was worth it?" he asked, "or would he make it worse for you after doing so?"

Taylor hesitated, before biting his lip as he thought it over.

"I think he’d make me regret it," he admitted finally, "I mean, he didn’t have to restrain me when he broke almost every bone in my body. He could very well do it again just as easily."

"Are you as frightened now as you were back then?"

"Well, no…"

Taylor scratched his head, before glancing at the clock.

"But it doesn’t mean I’m any more able," he said as he lay down, and pulled the sheets over himself.

Isaac looked up at the door as the clock began to chime.

"Just don’t do anything stupid, ok Tay? Good night."

"I won’t," Taylor insisted, before his eyes closed on the sixth chime.


	97. 96

Taylor awoke to a loud whirring noise beside his left ear.

Attempting as a natural reaction to flinch away from it, he found he could barely move. Only then did he realize that he was already strapped down tightly onto the table. At the same time, he saw what the doctor held in his hands.

A drill.

He shut it off suddenly, and Taylor could hear him chuckling to himself.

"Nothing beats getting back to basics, does it Taylor?" he asked absently, looking the drill over.

Taylor noticed he wore safety glasses, and gulped.

"You’re going to…"

The doctor covered his mouth with his hand, before leaning over him slightly.

"You’re getting quite advanced in predicting my actions, aren’t you?" he almost whispered, and Taylor could tell that there was a smile on his face.

Taylor tried to shake his head.

"Oh come on," the doctor seemed to try and reason, "it shouldn’t be much worse than other nights. I consider you getting off quite lightly tonight."

He lifted his hand from Taylor’s jaw and Taylor instantly shook his head.

"No, no, but it’s getting more deadly."

"Well of course. Our time is drawing to a close."

He leant over again slightly before started the drill up again.

"But it also depends on where I use it as to how life threatening it becomes."

That was it. Taylor was shaking again. And it didn’t really matter that his voice hadn’t been taken away, because he found it hard to speak regardless.

"Shall we begin?" came the doctor’s voice.

And Taylor’s fears were pretty much realized when the doctor began to aim for his scalp.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt as the drill toughed his forehead and began to enter. Clenching his fists and his jaw, all he could do was wait.

And then the doctor pulled back.

As Taylor started panting, he realized he couldn’t open his eyes – blood was pooled in their sockets.

"What… what happened?" he stuttered.

"Well I don’t need to go further than the skull. I don’t want to give you brain damage. What would be the point of that?"

Taylor almost rolled his eyes, before he heard the drill start up again.

"However, I don’t need to take such precautions in other areas…"

Then Taylor felt him grab his left hand and flatten it out.

"WAIT! Wait!" Taylor yelled, before he felt the drill hit the back of his hand.

Struggling to keep himself together, he felt the drill penetrate before slipping slightly as it cut through his palm. He couldn’t talk at this point – his throat choked up from not only the pain, but the thought of what he’d done and how he’d done it.

Settling back to a pant once the drill was removed, he felt his tears mixing with the blood as they began rolling down his face.

"Almost there," Taylor heard the doctor whisper.

He cringed as the nerves in his hand started to react, before feeling the doctor take hold of his left foot.

"NO! Don’t! Please! AH!"

Taylor almost screamed as the drill went right through, before the doctor did the same to his other foot. When that was over, the tears were streaming in full force.

"Oh Taylor…" the doctor began softly, placing his right palm on Taylor’s forehead gently, "there’s nothing like a little preparation for things to come."

Taylor gulped as he tried to contain himself, not really comprehending what he was being told.

"I’ll let you think that over when you awaken," the doctor insisted, before leaning over him to do the same to Taylor’s right hand as he’d done to his left.


	98. 97

"Oh thank God he’s awake," came Zac’s voice as Taylor’s eyes opened.

Taylor soon saw him sitting on the only chair in the room, his head in his hands.

"What?" he stammered.

"We were afraid you weren’t going to," Isaac admitted, watching him.

"Wake up, that is."

"Why?" Taylor looked between them, worriedly.

"Well…" Isaac gestured to his forehead.

"We thought you’d been shot," Zac admitted finally, "but then we saw your hands and thought you’d been crucified or something."

Taylor hesitated with a frown, then lifted his left hand to look at the scarring from the drill.

_There’s nothing like a little preparation for things to come…_

His eyes widened momentarily.

"No… he didn’t…" he said softly.

"But he will."

"What?" Isaac practically demanded.

Taylor glanced across at him.

"After he drilled through my hands and feet he said ‘there’s nothing like a little preparation’. Ike, that’s what he’s going to do. I know it!"

"Settle," Zac insisted, noticing Taylor was getting anxious, "we don’t know for sure yet."

"But what else could it be?" Taylor shook his head.

Isaac was silent, tapping his fingers on the bed where he sat.

"I don’t know," Zac admitted finally, shaking his head as well, "I don’t know what it could be."

"And he told me I was getting good at predicting his actions…."

"Well how much time have you spent with this guy for the past month? It’s only natural that you would," Zac said as he stood up, "now come on, breakfast."

"How the hell can I eat?" Taylor murmured, putting his head in his hands.

"By opening your mouth, putting food in it, chewing, and swallowing. It’s not that hard. I’ll get started."

And Zac left the room. Taylor looked up again when he left.

"It’s getting so close. It’s like I can feel it coming," he almost whispered with a gulp.

Isaac remained silent, just pondering.

Taylor took a deep breath, then threw off his bed covers and stood. He made his way over to the mirror and stood in front of it, just looking up and down his body at all the scars that had accumulated over the past few weeks. He sighed and bit his lip.

"It’s tomorrow."

"Tomorrow’s Friday Tay," Isaac reminded him, "the pastor said Saturday was it."

Taylor hesitated, then clenched his left fist.

"But I feel it coming tomorrow," he insisted, "or something. Something’s going to happen, I know it."

When he again got no reaction from his brother, he grabbed a change of clothes.

"I’m going for a shower. See you in the kitchen."

"You will."

Taylor hesitated one last time, glanced at Isaac, then left the room.

Isaac remained where he was for a few minutes, before pulling himself from the bed and making his way out to the kitchen as well. He walked in to see Zac bustling around. Leaning over the counter, he watched him for a moment.

"What’s it going to be like?" he asked suddenly.

"What’s what going to be like?" Zac asked, after almost jumping out of his skin.

"It…" Isaac rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Life. Life without Taylor."


	99. 98

Taylor felt cool grass beneath his feet and a gentle breeze running through his hair before he even opened his eyes. In doing so, all he could see was blue.

A dazzling mid-blue starlit sky punctured by an almost full moon.

An almost black body of water.

Blackened trees, and dark blue shadows.

He heard footsteps behind him, and only then did he realize that he couldn’t see what was ahead of him.

With a frown, he was about to turn around when he felt the doctor’s hands slowly but firmly grasp his shoulders. He froze with a gulp.

"It’s almost time," the doctor whispered.

Taylor felt his eyes getting heavy.

"Where am I?" he asked softly, careful not to try and aggravate him.

He shivered as he heard the doctor breathing sinisterly near his left ear.

"Why don’t you take a step forward and find out?"

Taylor instantly dug his heels in, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Oh don’t be like that," the doctor tsked softly, his grip tightening on Taylor’s shoulders.

"Don’t," Taylor murmured, "please… don’t. I can’t see."

"That’s partially the point," the doctor insisted, before giving Taylor a forceful shove forward.

Taylor lost his footing and turned as he fell. Then he heard the sound of small stones crumbling and rolling down a hill before realizing that his left foot was touching nothing.

By reflex he reached out to grab something with a yell before he fell backward into the hole, and his hands caught both grass and a nearby branch. It didn’t take long for Taylor to realize that he was holding on for dear life – and he couldn’t see what was below him. If anything.

As he looked up again, he saw the doctor standing over him.

"Why make this hard for yourself?" came his voice, before Taylor’s hands unexpectedly slipped.

"NO!"

He fell. At this point, as well as trying to breathe, he tried to work out what was beneath him. He knew he couldn’t die from this, but if the ground was close…

And if it was water…

And if it was jagged rock…

He held his breath for as long as he could, holding his head defensively in his hands as he tried to prepare for whatever was coming.

And after almost a minute, it was over.

"Tay?"

Taylor shot up in bed and started to hyperventilate.

"Tay?!" came Isaac’s voice again – more worried this time.

He darted over to Taylor’s bed and sat beside him, starting to rub his back.

"It’s ok Tay, it’s ok…"

"It’s… it’s not…"

"Whatever happened it’s over," Isaac insisted in a soothing voice, before putting his arm around his brother.

Tears started welling in Taylor’s eyes.

"I… I don’t wanna die," he cried softly, leaning his head in to Isaac’s shoulder.

Isaac hesitated, for a moment wondering why that took him by surprise. He bit his lip and just silently hugged his brother tighter to him.

"I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die," Taylor shook his head, repeating the words over and over.

Isaac forced himself not to cry, before kissing Taylor on the forehead and looking up to the doorway.

Zac stood there in silence.


	100. 99

It was getting late when Isaac came bursting into the living room to find a forlorn Zac planted in front of the TV.

"Where’s Taylor?" he demanded.

Zac looked up, then toward the door.

"I… don’t know," he admitted truthfully, "he’s not in his room?"

"No."

"The bathroom?"

"No!"

"Any other room?"

"He’s not here Zac."

Zac hesitated, then frowned.

"But where would he go?" he asked finally.

"I don’t know," Isaac fretted, scratching his head, "and I have to leave soon."

"Right. The pastor…"

"Exactly."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"Haven’t you heard?" Isaac asked incredulously.

"I mean by phone," Zac raised his eyebrows.

Isaac hesitated, then headed for the kitchen phone. He furiously dialed in Taylor’s cell phone number, then waited as it rang through. When it was answered, he had to stop himself from yelling.

"Hello?"

"Taylor, where the _hell_ are you?!" Isaac frowned.

"Sorry, I should have said something," Taylor sighed, "I’m on the roof."

Isaac hesitated with a confused look on his face. After a moment of silence, he shook his head.

"What the heck are you doing up there?"

His tone made Zac look up, before he actually stood and went to join Isaac by the phone.

"Watching the sunset."

Isaac froze.

"Ok," he said softly after a moment, "we were just worried."

"I know. See you soon."

They hung up, and Isaac rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"So where is he?" Zac shrugged.

"He’s on the roof."

"Right…"

As Taylor set his phone down, he continued doing exactly what he’d told Isaac he was.

Watching the sunset from the roof.

He knew it had been a long time since he’d truly appreciated what an amazing sight a simple sunset was.

As the stars started to show and the sun finally disappeared below the horizon, Taylor picked himself up and climbed down from the roof. He found Isaac and Zac waiting for him on the porch.

"Are you ok?" Isaac asked straight away, a concerned look on his face.

"Of course," Taylor shrugged, looking back over his shoulder.

"It’s just… at times like these you begin to realize, how it’s the most small and insignificant things that you’re going to miss the most."

Isaac hesitated as he just stood in front of him, then pulled Taylor in for a hug. Taylor embraced him back, with a glance across at Zac who just watched on silently.

When they let go, the three of them headed back inside.


	101. 100

Isaac had to stop himself from doing anything irrational as he picked up his coat and turned back to Taylor and Zac. Taylor dug his hands in the pockets of his jeans and Zac raised his eyebrows.

"So I guess this is it," Taylor shrugged awkwardly.

"No, this is _not_ it," Zac insisted from behind, leaving Taylor rolling his eyes.

"Perhaps it is," Isaac said softly with a warning glance at Zac.

Zac raised his hands in surrender as Taylor bit his lip.

"You’re not going to get all emotional on me, are you?" Isaac attempted a joke.

Taylor hesitated, just shaking his head.

"I can’t help it Ike," he cried finally, before the two embraced each other again.

This time Taylor couldn’t stop the tears. Isaac forced himself not to cry again, watching as Zac rubbed his face in an attempt to hide whatever he was thinking.

"I have to go Tay."

"I know," Taylor cried, hugging onto Isaac for all he was worth.

They finally let go, kissing each other on the cheek as they did so.

"Well… hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow," Isaac smiled as Taylor wiped his eyes.

"Yeah," Taylor nodded with a short chuckle.

"See you soon Zac."

Zac waved as Isaac grabbed the car keys, hesitating only to look back once he was at the front door. When the door shut behind him, Taylor jumped as he felt Zac’s hand on his shoulder.

"So… what do you want to do for the next two hours or so?" Zac asked carefully.

"I don’t know," Taylor frowned.

He rubbed his hands together, then turned and looked up at Zac.

"Jam?" he raised his eyebrows.

A grin spread across Zac’s face.

"Nothing would be better," he insisted, grabbing Taylor’s shoulder in his hand and beginning to lead him to the studio.

Meanwhile, Isaac was well on his way to the church.

Wiping away a few stray tears that managed to find their way down his cheeks, he found a parking spot practically at the door and shut the engine off. He sat there for a few minutes, just contemplating what would be happening in the next few hours or so.

Just before 8pm, something made Isaac look up at the door. It was slowly opening, and he eventually saw the pastor poke his head through cautiously.

When he saw Isaac looking in his direction, he beckoned him over.

Isaac got out of the car, locked it, then began to make his way over.

"’Evening," he nodded in greeting.

"Good evening. Please, come inside."

Isaac stepped through the door, then waited as the pastor closed it behind him. The man then plucked a torch from a nearby pew and led Isaac toward the corridor that Zac and Taylor had previously ventured down.

"So… what exactly am I doing here?" he asked before they could get there.

"You shall see."

Realising that was an invitation for Isaac to hold his tongue, he did so. The pastor opened the door and stepped through, indicating for Isaac to follow and close the door behind him. He did so, before they began down the stone corridor.

When the pastor came to the third door on their left, he stopped, and produced the key to unlock it. After pushing the door open, he stepped back a little.

"Only look," he said forcefully, "do not step inside."

Isaac glanced at him warily, before doing as he asked. The room was wooden and well lit. It contained a wooden cupboard in the back right hand corner beside a sink, a table against the right wall, benches across half the left wall, a bar across the rest of the left wall, and one solitary wooden chair in the centre with the wood rotten away in places.

"What is this place?" Isaac asked with a frown.


	102. 101

Zac took Taylor’s hand in his own.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly.

Taylor gave him a scornful look, and Zac could feel him shivering.

"What am I supposed to do?" Isaac asked the pastor, annoyed that he was only getting more and more confused.

"We have no book to go by," the pastor scorned, "should we try anything tonight, though it will all be against our better judgment, we honestly have no possible way of predicting an outcome."

Isaac frowned.

"So you’re saying you don’t know what we’re going to do."

The pastor sighed.

"Isaac, I brought you here not because I knew what we could do, merely that I knew that if we were to do anything tonight would be the first night we were able to."

"The first?"

"I told you before that it ends tomorrow night."

"But Taylor said something was going to happen tonight," Isaac insisted, "he said he could feel it coming."

The pastor shook his head.

"Yes, something will happen. But the doctor will not take his life. Come with me."

Isaac stood and followed the pastor back down the corridor to the room they’d stopped at earlier.

He quickly glanced at his watch. It was almost ten o’clock.

"You’re going to stay here, right?" Taylor asked Zac tearfully.

"Of course," Zac insisted, squeezing Taylor’s hand a little.

Taylor glanced at the nearby clock as the first of six chimes sounded.

"I’m sorry Zac," Taylor shook his head.

"For what?" Zac fretted.

"For everything," Taylor insisted as tears rolled down his cheeks, "I love you."

"I love you too," Zac replied, before Taylor’s eyes closed on the sixth chime.

Zac let go of Taylor’s hand and set it on the bed beside his body, before just sitting back to watch.

Meanwhile, a look of concentration appeared on Isaac’s face. Very, very slowly… there seemed to be a sort of mist appearing in the room.

"What’s happening?" he asked, stepping closer to the open doorway.

"Do not go in there. It will take approximately one hour before they clear."

Isaac glanced across at the pastor, before looking back into the room.

"They?" he asked.

"The doctor and your brother."

Isaac’s eyebrows rose.

"They’re going to be… in there?" he shook his head, "but how is this possible? None of this makes sense."

"When you are dealing with the supernatural, not everything has to make sense," the pastor insisted, indicating for Isaac to step aside.

He did so, and the pastor closed the door.

"In an hour, we shall return. And then we will see what we can do," he insisted.

Meanwhile, Taylor looked up from where he was on the floor. Much like where he’d been on the first night he’d awoken in the wooden room.

Realizing that he was both unrestrained and able to move, he scrambled back against the nearby wall and closed his eyes.

"You seem a little… jittery tonight Taylor," came the doctor’s voice from the opposite side of the room.

"Give me a reason not to be," Taylor’s voice shook.


	103. 102

"Open your eyes please, Taylor."

Taylor just cringed and shook his head.

"Taylor…"

Taylor almost bit through his bottom lip as he forced himself to look up in the doctor’s direction. As soon as he saw the giant cross out of the corner of his eye he squeezed his eyes shut and hid his head in his hands.

"Please, please, no," he whimpered as he shook, "I can’t, I can’t…"

"You know I have more than one way to get you to wherever I want you to be," came the doctor’s voice softly.

"I can’t do this," Taylor voice shook as he shook his head decisively.

"I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die."

He yelped as he felt the doctor grab his wrist, then a sharp prick in his right bicep.

"Who said anything about dying tonight?"

"What are you doing?" Taylor cringed, having caught sight of the syringe the doctor used before he’d started to back away.

"Just a little something to help me keep my control over you as a mortal."

Taylor bit into his lip again as he began to feel light headed.

He hid his head in his hands as he practically cowered back against the wall, hearing the doctor lift the cross with ease and settle it onto the floor in front of him.

It wasn’t all that long before Taylor collapsed, though remaining fully conscious.

When the doctor noticed, he made his way over and took hold of Taylor by the ankles. He dragged his body down so his shoulders were just level with the horizontal bar of the cross, before moving around to Taylor’s head and taking hold of his shoulders.

He lifted Taylor’s upper body onto the cross before spreading his arms and using some nearby ropes to begin tying his wrists.

"Please don’t do this," Taylor whispered, his eyes half opening and closing slowly.

"This is purely for my own benefit," the doctor insisted, "that and mankind, but they don’t really matter."

"What do you mean?" Taylor frowned tiredly as the doctor moved on to his torso, waist and ankles.

"It is purely nothing but God’s work, Taylor. By God’s sacrifice of one soul a month Satan himself is minimally satisfied. He need not cause terror among the mortal realm."

When the doctor was done, he stood and made his way to the cupboard. Taylor closed his eyes, trying his best to brace himself for what he knew was coming.

By the time he returned, Taylor could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. But the feeling of the stake jaggedly piercing the skin of his left wrist was unmistakable.

Meanwhile, Zac took a deep breath and sighed as he read his book on Isaac’s bed. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he glanced over at Taylor. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he returned to his reading. But then he looked up again.

"Oh no…"

He threw the book down and rushed to Taylor’s bedside, and not knowing what else to do, grabbed hold of his wrist as tight as he could. Realizing it wasn’t doing any good, he cringed and began wrapping the blankets furiously around it before reaching for his phone.

His hands were slippery with Taylor’s blood, but he managed to dial 911.

"Hello? Yes! We need an ambulance, and please hurry!"

Elsewhere, Isaac’s knee was bouncing as the hour was almost at an end.

"Can we go yet?"

The pastor checked the pocket watch that hung from his waistband and nodded.

"Very well. Please, don’t rush."

Isaac stood and made his way to the door where he waited for the pastor to unlock it. Once it was open, they made their way down the corridor.

When Isaac looked into the room, he froze in pure shock.

"Isaac?" the pastor asked carefully.

There was Taylor, on the cross against the back wall. His weight barely sustained.


	104. 103

"I need to get him down," Isaac insisted, grabbing the doorknob and pulling the door open.

He felt the pastor take hold of his arm.

"Be warned, Isaac," he insisted, "that once you set foot inside that room, he will know you are there. And you will be defenseless."

"I know that his powers have dwindled," Isaac returned.

"But they’ve not dissipated completely," the pastor insisted.

"Let go of me. I need to help him."

"He is not there," the pastor shook his head, "it is only his spirit. We do not know what may happen if you…"

Isaac pulled his arm from the pastor’s grasp and stepped into the room. His footsteps on the wooden floorboards made an oddly loud echo, which in itself began to make Isaac feel uneasy.

The doctor spun at the sound, then simply smiled when he saw his guest.

"Welcome, Isaac…"

Isaac hesitated as he gathered his thoughts, then began to make for Taylor. The doctor spun and revealed a large knife that he proceeded to lay against Taylor’s exposed stomach.

"I wouldn’t, if I were you."

"Yeah? Well you’re not me," Isaac scowled.

"Isaac? Let me show you something," the doctor insisted, laying the knife on the nearby bench and beginning to approach. 

Isaac began to back away.

"Oh come now, I won’t bite," the doctor insisted, before lunging forward and grabbing Isaac’s wrist.

Isaac jumped at the initial touch, before clenching his fist.

"What?" he demanded, staring the doctor in the eyes.

They were a cold, hard grey. Just as he’d expected.

"Raise your hand."

Isaac did so, before the doctor put his own up to it. Slowly, he let his hand pass through Isaac’s.

"Woah, Jesus!" Isaac exclaimed, attempting to back away again but being held by the doctor’s other hand.

"You see Isaac…" he began again once he had his attention, "only I can decide when the mortal and immortal realms can collide."

"You can touch me but I can’t touch you," Isaac whispered.

"Another fast learner. I like that," the doctor nodded, finally letting go of Isaac’s wrist.

Isaac’s eyes shot to Taylor, before he shook his head.

Ducking past the doctor, he made it to Taylor’s side. Going to place his hand on Taylor’s waist, he stumbled slightly as it simply passed through.

"Oh no."

"What did you expect, Isaac?" the doctor taunted, leaning against the table.

Isaac scowled, before looking up into Taylor’s face. He seemed to be unconscious, but he knew he couldn’t be.

"You can’t do this," Isaac insisted.

"I can," the doctor insisted.

"As I told Taylor many a time, I always win."

Isaac turned back to the doctor, then looked down at his hand. Curiously, he lifted it and had a closer look.

"Then why is there blood on my hand?" he asked conversationally, raising his eyebrows.

The doctor hesitated.

Not waiting for a response, Isaac returned to Taylor’s side and tried again. This time he realized that he again couldn’t touch Taylor… but he could touch the ropes.


	105. 104

Zac sat in the waiting room for the emergency ward arguing with himself over what to do.

Should he call Isaac?

He had no idea of what Isaac was doing. Maybe he had an idea of how to stop this.

Zac threw his cell phone between his hands, before finally deciding. Standing, he made his way outside the doors, and called Isaac’s cell.

It rang out the first time, but the second…

"Hello? Zac?"

"Ike…"

"This better be damn important. Do you have _any_ idea of…"

"He’s bleeding," Zac interrupted.

Isaac hesitated.

"What? No…"

"He’s bleeding Isaac. A lot. And I know it hasn’t happened before but it’s happening now. We’re at the hospital. And if this doesn’t work, we’re going to lose him."

Isaac shook his head and leant back against the wall, before peering back into the room.

"Zac?"

"Yeah?"

"I’ll be right there."

"Ok, see you soon."

They hung up, and Isaac turned to the pastor.

"He’s bleeding," he shrugged, "Zac said he might not make it if…"

"Just go," the pastor insisted with a nod, "there is nothing more you can do here for the moment."

Isaac bit his lip, took one last glance into the room, then began back down the corridor. He was at the hospital in record time, and soon found Zac in the emergency ward.

"IKE?!" Zac yelled as soon as he saw him.

"What? Did something happen?!" Isaac stressed, his stride changing to a jog.

"He woke up!" Zac’s eyes were wide.

"This… this has never happened before. But he’s awake in there and he’s still bleeding. Ike, they don’t know if they can stop it. This could be it."

"Settle, settle," Isaac insisted, grabbing Zac into a hug, "everyone told us Saturday, ok?"

"Well maybe they got mixed up," Zac insisted, "because he’s not in there for nothing."

Isaac frowned again, before letting Zac go and letting him lead him over to the window into the emergency ward. With a gulp, Zac realized Taylor wasn’t moving, and all five doctors in the room were bustling around as fast as they could.

"Something’s wrong," Isaac stated the obvious.

Not hesitating, Zac caught a nurse by the arm as he left the room.

"What happened?" he demanded, with a look that told the nurse not to mess with him.

"He’s… he’s slipped into a coma. We need to stabilize him."

Zac dropped the man’s arm, before turning to Isaac.

"Do you think he’ll wake up?" he almost scorned.

Isaac didn’t reply, but turned his attention back to the hospital window and leant on the sill.

"When did this start?" Isaac murmured.

"Not long ago. I called you about half an hour after we arrived."

Isaac nodded, then took a deep breath.

"I guess we’re in the waiting game now," he admitted regretfully.

"Well let’s hope this wait isn’t a long one," Zac folded his arms.

"It won’t be," Isaac insisted looking up, "because tomorrow night is the new moon."


	106. 105

"Well Zac, it’s 6am…" Isaac began as he took a deep breath.

"So?" Zac replied tersely, not moving from where he was sitting with his head in his hands.

"So don’t you think you should get some sleep? They’ll call us if anything happens."

Zac took his own deep breath, before finally looking up and resting his chin in his hand.

"I think I might stay here."

"Zac…"

"Ike, don’t."

Isaac hesitated, then took another look across at Taylor. They’d moved him into his own ward, as there was nothing they could do since he’d slipped into the coma. Isaac frowned a little.

"Tay?"

Zac’s head shot up and he stood up from the chair, "Taylor?"

Taylor opened his eyes tiredly, looking up at Isaac. Then he looked across at the machines surrounding him, before feeling the tubes practically covering him.

"Where am I?" his voice croaked.

"Tay, you’re in hospital," Isaac informed him in a gentle voice, "you lost a lot of blood dude."

Taylor frowned as he comprehended what Isaac said.

"I bled?" he asked softly, before lifting his hand in front of his face.

He eyed the bandage around his wrist, noting the red that had seeped through it.

"What happened?" he whispered.

"We don’t know," Zac told him, taking his other hand, "when I brought you in here they said you woke up, then went into a coma."

"I didn’t go into a coma," Taylor insisted, "I was with him."

Zac looked up at Isaac as it dawned on them what had happened.

"Then what happened when you woke up?" Zac shook his head.

Taylor hesitated, then frowned again.

"I don’t remember."

"Well anyway Tay, they’ll want to keep you here for observation for a while, so…"

"Wait," Taylor interrupted, looking up at him.

"Ike, I can’t stay here. This is my last night. I’m not spending it in a freaking…"

"Cool it," Zac insisted, "we’ll get you out of here."

Isaac raised his eyebrows.

"’We’?"

"What, you want us to leave him here to rot?" Zac glared up at him.

"Calm down," Taylor insisted, pulling a few wires and tubes from his person, "I’ll just… walk out. Or something."

"Yeah, sure Tay," Isaac scorned, "aren’t we forgetting something?"

"We can sneak him out," Zac insisted.

"That’s not what I meant," Isaac insisted as Taylor threw the covers off himself.

He hesitated when he saw the state of his feet.

"That’s what I was talking about."

"Ok… plan B," Taylor insisted, "we need a wheelchair, or…"

"We’re not carrying you out," Isaac scorned again.

"Then we need a wheelchair," Zac insisted, standing up, "I’ll go find one."

As he left, Isaac knelt in front of Taylor.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"I have never been more positive in my life," Taylor insisted.


	107. 106

"We’re not going to be able to just take him through the front doors," Isaac scorned as Zac carefully peered around a corner across from the elevators.

"Of course not. We just need to get him out the side door," Zac insisted.

"It’s not like we could take a wheelchair downstairs successfully Ike," Taylor scorned.

"It’s clear," Zac informed them before going to press the button to go down.

"Apart from security cameras," Isaac murmured, pushing Taylor forward and around the corner.

The elevator arrived with no one in it, and they got in as Zac pressed for the ground floor. In no time they were at the side door.

"No one answer your phones for a while," Zac insisted, "they’ll be calling to try and find out where he is."

"Where’s your car?" Isaac asked, looking around.

"There," Zac pointed, "it’s the closest I could get. It’s lucky I haven’t had to move it."

They made their way over, and Isaac helped Taylor into the back seat.

"We need this wheelchair," Isaac looked worried as Taylor pulled the door shut.

"Just leave it for now. We’ll figure something out when we get home," Zac insisted, going to unlock the driver’s door and get in.

"Ok, well… I’ll meet you there."

"See you Ike."

Isaac watched as Zac started the car, then began to make his way home. He found where he’d parked his van and then began to follow them.

When he finally made it home, he saw the car door and front door wide open. Guessing that Zac had carried Taylor inside, he closed the doors behind him as he went in and made his way up to his room.

He almost bumped into Zac as he was leaving the room.

"Oh, hey."

"Where are you going?"

"Need to make a phone call."

Isaac watched after him curiously, then went in to see Taylor. He was on Isaac’s bed, as his was still a mess.

"Looks like I’d better clean this up," he shrugged, going to do so.

"I’m sorry," Taylor said softly.

"It’s not your fault."

"Maybe, but it still feels like it."

"So…" Isaac began as he pulled the sheets from the bed, "was there anything specific that you wanted to do today?"

"Well nothing that I can do now," Taylor raised his eyebrows, just staring at the ceiling.

"Ok."

Isaac bundled up the sheets from the bed, then turned to Taylor again.

"I need to ditch these sheets somewhere because they obviously can’t ever be used again. Are you going to be alright for now?"

Taylor nodded, and Isaac sighed.

"Back in a moment Tay."

He left the room and made his way downstairs. As he approached the kitchen, he could hear Zac talking on the phone.

Wondering who he was talking to, he settled to listening in from around the corner.

"I know, I’m not sure if it was supposed to happen or not… I definitely will. No, I’m not backing out. I told you I was in this for the long haul. I’ll see you tonight, ok?"

Isaac frowned. It must have been that girl again.

"Ok. Bye."

When he hung up, Isaac stepped out into the doorway.

"So who did you have to call?" he asked nonchalantly.


	108. 107

"No one important," Zac insisted, rubbing his nose before beginning to put together some breakfast for himself and Taylor.

Isaac hesitated, then threw the sheets onto a nearby stool and leant on the kitchen bench with his hands.

"You’re going out tonight, aren’t you?" he demanded with a glare.

Zac looked up almost like a deer in headlights, before settling to a stare.

"No, I’m not."

"Don’t lie to me Zac," Isaac’s voice rose.

"I’m not lying," Zac shrugged it off, glancing toward the doorway as he continued bustling around the kitchen.

"Then tell me who you were talking to and who it is you’re planning to see tonight."

Zac froze as he took a plate from the cupboard, the look on his face suddenly turning to a glare.

"You were listening in?" he turned to Isaac, incredulously, "Ike, you’re really…"

"Save it Zac," Isaac shook his head, standing up properly again and grabbing the sheets.

"You know my view on it. But if you really do go out tonight, Taylor’s _last_ night, then you’re truly not the person I thought you were."

The two stood and stared at each other for a moment, before Isaac made his way through the front door and out to the garbage.

Zac hesitated for a moment, before ditching the knife he was holding into the sink.

Meanwhile, Taylor was listening from upstairs in his room. And when Isaac finally appeared again, he had a frown on his face.

"Ike, what’s happening?" he asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

"With Zac, I heard the yelling."

Isaac pursed his lips, then scratched his head.

"I think he might be planning to go out tonight again."

"Well you know it’s his choice. If he wants to, he wants to," Taylor reasoned.

"Yes, but… I need to go back to the church tonight. Someone needs to be here to… watch… you know."

Taylor sighed, and returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Do you need anything? Zac’s bringing your breakfast up soon."

"What happened to the compilation CDs you bought… from the original 50s and 60s tapes we had when we were little?"

Isaac hesitated, a small smile appearing on his face. He didn’t know why the question surprised him.

"I keep them here, normally," he said, "but the songs are on my iPod."

"I’d like to hear them," Taylor whispered.

Isaac leant forward to fetch his iPod from under the bed, hesitating when Taylor’s hand softly grabbed his arm.

"The CDs," he insisted, looking directly into Isaac’s eyes.

"You mean via Discman?"

"Yeah."

"Ok," Isaac nodded, sifting further under his bed to reveal his dusty Discman.

He blew the dust off, then looked for the CDs in a draw in the bedside table. When he found them he put the first CD in, then put the player on the bed near Taylor’s right hand. Lifting the headphones, he placed them over Taylor’s ears.

"Thanks Ike," he smiled, before pressing ‘play’ and closing his eyes.

"No problem," Isaac insisted softly, knowing that Taylor wouldn’t hear him anyway.

He sat back onto the floor for a moment, just to watch.

Zac soon brought Taylor’s breakfast in for him, then departed to have a shower. Isaac remained where he was, humming the songs to himself that he knew Taylor was listening to… on repeat.


	109. 108

When Taylor had a moment alone with Zac that night, he took his hand in his own.

"I need you to do something for me," he said softly.

"Sure," Zac shrugged, "anything. Anything at all."

Taylor hesitated, then bit his lip.

"I know Ike is planning to go back to the church tonight, to try and stop this from happening," he began.

"I need you to talk him out of it."

"What?"

"Hear me out, Zac."

Zac waited as he gathered his thoughts.

"This isn’t just some random happening," Taylor began softly.

"I was chosen, and I was chosen for a reason. The doctor has to do this. By the sacrifice of one soul a month everyone can live on without the devil tormenting them."

"So what happens when he’s dissuaded?" Zac shrugged.

"Well… there’s been Hiroshima, Chernobyl, world wars, terrorist attacks, tsunamis…"

"And all that, is because this guy was stopped from killing someone?" Zac’s eyebrows rose.

"I guess so," Taylor shrugged slightly.

"Well… wow."

"Do you understand what this means Zac?" Taylor asked seriously, looking him in the eyes.

"If I die, I could be saving millions of lives…"

"I get that now," Zac insisted with a nod.

"Do you think you can tell Ike?"

Zac hesitated, then shook his head slightly.

"I’ll… I’ll see what I can do. I’ll go and talk to him now."

"Thank you," Taylor whispered, letting go of Zac’s hand and returning his gaze to the ceiling.

Zac bit into his bottom lip as he backed from the room and closed the door softly behind him. Then he headed out into the kitchen area where he could hear Isaac bustling around.

"Ike?"

"What?" his voice came sharply.

When Zac turned into the room, he saw Isaac’s back to him as he stood at the sink.

"I… I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Taylor doesn’t want you to do anything."

Isaac froze. After a moment of disbelief, he turned around.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he wants to die tonight, and he has a legitimate reason."

"And what is that?"

"It doesn’t matter what it is," Zac insisted, "just as long as he doesn’t know that you’re going back to the church tonight, we’ll be fine."

"You want to lie to him?" Isaac frowned, throwing the dishcloth he was holding onto the bench.

"I just don’t want him to die," Zac shook his head, "and I am not going to give up on him. So are you with me or not? Just tell him you’ve changed your mind and you’d rather spend his last moments with him rather than off fighting some kind of… supernatural being."

Isaac hesitated, thinking it over.

"He doesn’t need to know any different, right? I mean, once he’s out he won’t know…"

"Exactly," Zac smiled.


	110. 109

"Well… I guess this is it," Isaac said softly, standing at Taylor’s bedside with Zac on his knees in front of him.

Taylor glanced up at him, then took in a shaky breath as he tried his best to keep the tears at bay.

Isaac bit his lip, before leaning down to give Taylor one more hug.

"I love you Ike," Taylor whispered.

"Love you too."

When they finally let go, Zac leant in for his hug.

"Love you too, Zac."

"I know. Love you too Tay. It’s going to be alright."

"No it’s not," Taylor shook his head, "but it’s ok. I’ll deal."

"Are you ready Tay?" Isaac asked softly.

"No," Taylor shook his head honestly, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Do you want us to leave the room?" Zac offered.

"No! No," Taylor insisted, shaking his head, "please just stay where I can see you."

"That’s fine Tay," Isaac nodded, as Zac stood up next to him, "we won’t leave you."

Taylor nodded, then took a few deep breaths to ready himself.

"Ok," he closed his eyes and nodded, "ah… track five?"

"Sure," Isaac replied, leaning forward to the Discman still on the bed.

He skipped to the requested track, as Zac carefully put the headphones back over Taylor’s ears. Taylor adjusted the volume as the song started, making it loud enough for Isaac to hear quite clearly.

Zac glanced at the door as he heard the grandfather clock beginning to chime, then turned again as Isaac put his arm around his shoulders.

Taylor didn’t bother to remove the tears trailing down his face, he simply concentrated on the music blasting into his ears. Just before the clock had chimed six times, he looked up to see the faces of his brothers smiling down on him before his eyes slowly closed for the final time.

Isaac wiped his own face desperately, hoping he hadn’t looked too bad a moment before.

"Ok, I’m going. I’ll call… or something. Just watch him in case something goes wrong like last night."

"No problem," Zac nodded with a sigh.

He backed over to Taylor’s bed and sat down, staring at the floorboards sullenly.

"Good luck," Isaac nodded, grabbing his jacket and closing the door behind him on the way out.

"You too!" Zac called after him.

He watched Taylor for a moment, before standing and going to remove the headphones and turn the Discman off.

When he heard Isaac’s van start and begin down the driveway, he grabbed his own jacket.

"Good luck Tay," he said softly, leaning over his brother to kiss his forehead.

That done, he left the room and headed out to his car.

When Taylor awoke, he found himself back in the chair. His wrists had already been taped to the arms with silver gaffer tape, the more vulnerable side exposed upward.

After pulling on the tape for a moment or two, his head shot up when he heard the doctor’s footsteps.

The doctor wasted no time in grabbing Taylor by the hair, pulling his head back, and laying a blade across his throat.

"Welcome to the grand finale," he whispered.

"I’d like you to listen to me for a moment, as there are a few ground rules I must go through with you," he began in his soft, sinister voice as he began to drag the blade slowly across Taylor’s neck.

"And of course, I will explain a little about what will happen after tonight."


	111. 110

Close to an hour after Isaac arrived at the church, he thundered down the hallway to the room of the doctor. Not hesitating in his stride, he flung the door open and stepped through. He stopped at the sight of Taylor taped by the wrists to the chair, with tape also across his mouth.

When Taylor heard him, his head shot up. The cries that followed came out in mumbles as the doctor turned to greet his newest guest.

"Good evening, Isaac…"

Isaac held his hands out a little, as if trying to calm the doctor down.

"Put the knife down," he began softly.

"Now why… would I want to do a thing like that?"

And with those few words, the doctor raised the knife and slashed it across both of Taylor’s exposed wrists. His cries that followed were of course muffled, as Isaac’s eyes widened.

"NO!" he yelled, darting forward.

He soon had to lean backward and stand as still as he could as the doctor held the knife to his neck – streaked with his brother’s blood.

"You are in way over your head here Isaac," the doctor tuttered slightly.

"You think you can save your brother, but you can’t. You think you can save the world but you can’t. There is only so much you can do, you know…"

"Let. Him. Go," Isaac forced himself not to stutter, ignoring the tears pooled in Taylor’s eyes as he tried to hold himself together.

"You really do not understand, do you Isaac?" the doctor tilted his head, staring into Isaac’s eyes.

"Your brother is simply a pawn in a game on such a scale that you could never in your life imagine. If your brother does not die, thousands of others will to take his place. Now… are you willing to make that sacrifice?"

Isaac simply froze and didn’t answer.

"Do not make me ask a third time Isaac. Your brother, or thousands of innocent people?"

"Why him?" Isaac’s voice shook, "why him, of everyone in the world that you could have…"

"I was not the one to choose him," the doctor insisted, pulling the blade slightly back from Isaac’s neck.

He glanced back at Taylor in the chair, just staring up at them with a petrified look on his face.

"Do you know your brother as well as you think you do, Isaac?" he asked suddenly, moving to the side a little.

"How am I supposed to answer that?" Isaac shook his head with a squint.

"Do you have any idea of what his last words may have been?" the doctor seemed to taunt, his fingertips gracing the blade of the knife he’d just used before lifting them to his mouth and carefully tasting the thick red liquid.

"Your brother is a fascinating boy, you know."

"What are you getting at?" Isaac was becoming frustrated.

"Your brother’s last words. You still haven’t answered my question."

"I don’t know," Isaac shrugged, glancing idly at Taylor who was shaking his head.

Not a second later, the handle of the knife the doctor held came crashing down onto the side of Isaac’s head. Isaac collapsed almost instantly, leaving Taylor to border on hysterics.

"They were the pleas to spare a brother’s life, were they not Taylor?" the doctor smiled.

He carefully knelt beside Isaac’s body where it lay sprawled out on the ground and took hold of his shoulder to roll him over.

After staring into his face for a moment as if in thought, he wiped the knife clean and raised it.

"A second tortured soul can only be a bonus," he murmured as Taylor’s muffled pleas of mercy continued, before freezing in mid air.

Taylor watched on with bloodshot and wet eyes as the doctor seemed to hesitate.

His body slowly began to jitter, the knife clattering to the floor at his knees. As he leant forward to retrieve the knife, he turned back forcefully to face Taylor. Even through the distortion caused by his tears, Taylor took note of the doctor’s eyes…

They were a deep, warm brown rather than the usual cold grey.

"I’m sorry," the old man whispered, before raising the knife shakily in both hands and forcing the blade into his own chest.

Taylor cried out in shock as the doctor’s body collapsed sideways at his feet.

When Isaac finally came to, he heard the sound of his cell phone ringing.

Grunting a little as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, he looked upward tiredly. There was no sign of the doctor, and Taylor looked like he’d passed out.

Isaac attempted to get up further, but ended up collapsing again and rolling onto his back. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his phone from his pocket and answered the call.

"Yeah?"

"Isaac?" came a female voice.

Isaac frowned to himself.

"Who are you?" his voice croaked.

"My name’s Clora… I got your number from your brother Zac?"

"And where is he?"

"He’s in the hospital, Isaac. I thought you’d like to know."

"What?" Isaac gasped, sitting up straight and ignoring the dizziness he felt "what happened, do you know?"

"Zac has been coming to see me for a couple of months now, Isaac. But I’m sure he would like to tell you what happened on his own. I brought him here and I will leave his stuff with him. Please get here as soon as you can."

"I will," Isaac insisted, before she hung up.

He stared at the phone for a moment, before putting it away. Finally managing to stand up, he awkwardly and carefully made his way over to Taylor. His body was becoming transparent again, leaving Isaac to wonder exactly how long he’d been unconscious.

With a gulp, he saw how Taylor’s wrists had been slashed and how much he’d bled. Hoping against hope that it hadn’t been enough, he made sure he had everything he’d brought with him and made his way out to his van again.

And he made his way to the hospital, stopping at his home on the way.


	112. Epilogue

When Zac finally managed to squeeze his eyes open, he could tell it was morning already by the sheer amount of light in the room.

"Zac?" came Isaac’s voice to his left.

He grudgingly managed to look up at him.

"Are you ok?" Isaac asked softly, "Clora wouldn’t say much about what happened, so I hope you plan to as soon as you can."

"Yeah, we were really worried."

Zac’s weary eyes shot to his right, where he saw Taylor leaning on the bed with his elbows - an extremely concerned look on his face.

"Taylor?" his voice croaked.

Taylor smiled and grabbed his hand.

"I owe you one, you know."

"You owe me a lot of ones," Zac insisted, closing his eyes again for a moment.

"That I do. You have no idea how grateful I am."

"And imagine that. Yesterday he’d given up," Isaac grinned, finally sitting down on the chair beside Zac’s hospital bed.

"So… are you up to telling us how you possessed him?" Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn’t that hard," Zac insisted, "we’d been… working on it for a couple of months. I guess it just took a lot out of me."

"You suffered the stab wound," Isaac scratched his chin awkwardly, "but not as seriously for some reason."

"Because I wasn’t in my body," Zac shrugged, "but I’m glad I could dissuade him. Whether I’m killing thousands or not by doing it, I don’t care."

"Have I told you I loved you lately?" Taylor almost chuckled.

"Yeah, last night if I remember correctly."

Then Zac frowned a little as he looked Taylor over.

"What?"

"Your scars…"

"…Are gone? I know," Taylor smiled again, "all but two."

He held up his other wrist so that Zac could see.

"So Zac, this Clora…" Isaac began.

"What?"

"She knew what was going to happen?"

"Sort of," Zac replied carefully, "she’s like… a psychic in training sort of thing. The psychic who died last week was her grandmother."

Isaac felt a cold chill creep through his chest.

"That was Clora? The girl I spoke to at her funeral?"

"I wouldn’t be surprised."

"So… is anything going on between you and her?" Taylor raised his eyebrows with a cheeky grin.

"Wouldn’t you like to know."


End file.
